This year’s count of nesting fulmars on John Muir Trust’s Sandwood Bay estate, near Cape Wrath, have raised fears that 2008 could be another dire year for Scotland’s seabirds. Only 261 nesting pairs were counted on the cliffs that once supported over 700 pairs, representing a decline of around 60% in ten years. The Trust has been counting breeding Fulmars, a key indicator species for the health of North Sea, on the same three mile stretch of cliffs between Sandwood Bay and Sheigra since 1997. “Our surveys in both 2008 and 2007 have recorded the lowest Fulmar counts since records…

Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) has started a project to monitor climate change using measurements taken in some of the highest corries. The Snowbed Project will use sites in the Cairngorms and on Aonach Mor, Ben Dearg, Ben Alder and Ben Wyvis to investigate the effects of less snow and warmer conditions on plants such as moss and liverwort, and impacts further up the food chain on birds such as snow bunting. Climate change models predict a decrease in the amount of snow on the mountains into the summer. SNH say that snow patches that remain on the high mountain corries…

The financially-troubled company which runs the Cairngorm funicular railway has been has been transferred to the ownership of Highlands and Islands Enterprise in a deal which will reduce the Company’s debt. Highlands and Islands already owned the land and the railway and will now own the operating company, with the day to day management likely to be put out to tender. The Company has been hampered by massive debt since it built the railway in 2001. Conservations bitterly opposed the building of the attraction because of the impact on the fragile and very rare ecosytem of the high Cairngorms. Campaigners…

The body of a beaver has been recovered from the shore at Eathie on the Black Isle. The dead beaver was found in April and police are now investigating whether it was released into the wild illegally. Once native to Britain, beavers were hunted to extinction more than 400 years ago. It is illegal to release beavers into the wild, although there are plans to release them in Argyll under a licensed scheme. However there have recently been reports that beavers may have been released near Aberfeldy in Perthshire and also in Angus and Fife where damage to trees has…

This Saturday (3rd of May) Tom Pendrey will pack his kayak with food, equipment and a solar panel and set off to paddle the length of the Western Isles to promote sustainable lifestyles. Committed to sustainable living, Tom’s 150 mile journey will leave little trace on the planet. Tom is one of three expeditions that are being sponsored this year by the John Muir Trust’s 2008 Bill Wallace Grant. “Now in its second year the Bill Wallace Grant is for expeditions that raise awareness of and help to conserve wild places,” commented JMT Development Manager Dave Picken. “I wish this…

Walkers on Goatfell, Ben Lomond and Ben Lawers are being asked to play their part in a National Trust for Scotland survey of the Ptarmigan population. The sightings will contribute to a detailed survey to be carried out by the conservation charity this year and will go some way to assessing possible climate change effects on the Trust’s high mountain peaks. The survey will provide reliable population information for one of Scotland’s most popular mountain birds, the Ptarmigan. The data will allow conservationists to examine the changing patterns of the bird’s populations, with a particular focus on any effects from a…

Consultation is underway on whether Harris should become Scotland’s third national park. Residents voted last week to approve a feasibility study into the idea.  The meeting was organised by the North Harris Trust and the main advantages in terms of economic development were outlined. It is not yet clear where the money for the feasibility study will come from, however Micheal Russell, Environment Minister for the Scottish Government has made positive noises about the prospect of Harris as a national park. Harris has fantastic landscape, wildlife and cultural resources. It has the largest area of mountains in the UK outside…