Wards Estate - Part 2

There was a comment on a previous post querying why the RSPB needed to raise funds to buy the Wards Estate when it is already covered by a number of protective designations. I took this up with RSPB who have given this response.
"The site is indeed covered by a number of natural heritage designations (NNR, SSSI, SAC, SPA).  These help to protect the site from damaging development or activities.  They do not, however, guarantee that the site will be managed in the best way or that we make the most of opportunities for the public to enjoy it.  This partnership will safeguard the wildlife and precious habitats on this site for at least another 25 years. Had SNH and the Park chosen not to provide funding, it is likely that RSPB would not have proceeded and the site may have been purchased by a private owner unwilling to work in partnership with SNH and the Park Authority"

This is an impressive array of letters which led me to try to find out a bit more about what they mean. Here is a summary but a lot more detailed information on protective designations can be found on SNH's website
NNR - National Nature Reserve. National Nature Reserves are areas of land set aside for nature, where the main purpose of management is the conservation of habitats and species of national and international significance. Visitors are welcome at National Nature Reserves.


SSSI - Site of Special Scientific Interest.  Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) are those areas of land and water (to the seaward limits of local authority areas) that Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) considers to best represent our natural heritage - its diversity of plants, animals and habitats, rocks and landforms, or a combinations of such natural features. 


SAC - Special Area of Conservation.  This is an international designation and recognises the importance of a site that extends beyond national boundaries.  A Special Area of Conservation (or SAC) is a site designated under the Habitats Directive. These sites are called Natura sites and they are internationally important for threatened habitats and species. Natura sites form a unique network of protected areas which stretches across Europe from the rocky coasts of Ireland in the west, to the marshes of eastern Poland, taking in the northern forests of Sweden and the volcanic lava fields of Tenerife. SACs are selected for a number of habitats and species.
SPA - Special Protection Area.  Another international designation. A Special Protection Area (or SPA) is a site designated under the Birds Directive. SPAs are selected for a number of rare, threatened or vulnerable bird species listed in Annex I of the Birds Directive, and also for regularly occurring migratory species.


RAMSAR.  RSPB didn't mention this but this is also an important international designation.  What does Ramsar stand for? It's actually the name of a town in Iran where the Convention of Wetlands of International Importance was adopted in 1971. The UK Government signed up to the Convention in 1976.  The mission of the Convention is "the conservation and wise use of wetlands by national action and international cooperation as a means to achieving sustainable development throughout the world".

This emphasises yet again what a very special place this is and makes me appreciate even more how lucky I am to be able to enjoy the wonders of this area on a daily basis.

It must be summer - at last

For the past week there has been a solitary swallow seen occasionally over the fields towards the loch - and, as we all know, one swallow doesn't make a summer.  However, today they were back in force, several of them swooping and soaring around the gable end of the house.  We have been on the lookout for them for almost a month.  They are usually here by the middle of April and have been very late in making an appearance this year.  Maybe the kink in the jet stream sent them off course and they have struggled to make their way back  There are plenty of flies and insects for them to feed on as the midge season seems to have started early this year - despite the rain and chilly weather.  It really is good to see their return. [The swallows that is - definitely not the midges except insofar as they are food for the swallows.  Pity you can't have one without the other.]  Now all we need is some sun.
The news of RSPBs imminent arrival in the area must be spreading through the avian world as I have sighted three species this week that I have not seen before.  Just as I was approaching Shore Wood yesterday a small bird darting through the trees and eating buds caught my eye.  It was a blackcap and I was able to watch it for several minutes before it flew higher and out of sight. As I went through the last gate to cross the short stretch of open ground before the Net Bay View Point there was a bird making very shrill call at the waters edge.  I did not get a chance to watch them for long because they darted away but there was a pair of ringed plovers at the waters edge.  The final new sighting was this afternoon, right outside the sitting room window.  A small green bird landed on the table outside and I got a clear view of a dainty little goldcrest.  This is certainly a first in the garden and I will certainly be looking out for it again.

The range of wild flowers in bloom along the path seems to increase by the day. As we go into May the bluebells are at their best.

Endrick Marshes in safe hands

Fantastic news!  The Wards Estate has been purchased by a partnership between RSPB, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to be developed as a nature reserve and bird sanctuary.  The diverse wildlife of this unique area will be safe and encouraged to prosper here.  This is a very special area that is significant internationally as well as in Scotland and Britain.
High Wards Farm has also been purchased and will become the base for RSPB staff who will be managing and developing the site.  Over time a visitor centre will be created and access to the area improved whilst maintaining the security and wellbeing of the wildlife.
This is a very exciting prospect for the area and those of us who enjoy the woods on a daily basis.  RSPB are keen to work with the local community as the project develops.  However, there is also an Appeal to raise the £1.1m needed to complete the purchase.  Donations can be made online at RSPB Wards Estate Appeal

Shore Wood is recovering from the long winter and there are definite signs of Spring.  It's too early for the bluebells to be out in force although there is the odd hardy specimen.  It is the wood anemones that are a delight and I would urge you to go and see them.  Their dainty star like faces follow the sun as it penetrates the still bare branches.  A carpet of stars.

Back Again

I know, I know, it's been a very long time since my last posting - over six months.  Mobility problems mean that I have not been getting down to the loch as often as I would like.  In fact hardly at all.  However, in a couple of weeks time I am due to get a new knee and after being off my feet for a few weeks should be back to normal.  I will try to do some catching up while I recuperate.

The big news of the past week has been Monday's storm.  It was certainly the worst I have known since I have been here and this has been echoed by many locals too.  We were without power for nearly 48 hours while fallen cables were being located and restored.  The garden was hit hard.  A sixty foot oak tree (above) lies across the lawn and an old rowan tree also toppled.  Branches are everywhere and clearing up will take quite a time.  However, there are plenty of volunteers just dying to get out their chainsaws.  The winds are still strong and it may be sometime before I can get a bonfire lit to clear away some of the wood that is not much use for firewood or kindling.  At least we will be warm for the next couple of winters.  There's a couple of tons of good oak wood for the fires.

Autumn Reflections

A Carpet of fallen leaves

The signs of Autumn are all around.  There is a definite chill in the air and the night-time frosts over the past week have brought more and more colour to the landscape.  The trees are glowing with gold and red and russet hues.  Even the drive to Balloch today was through arches of yellow and brown.

This weekend the clocks go back and although we will be glad of the light in the early mornings, it will certainly be dark by tea time.  Halloween this weekend and then Bonfire Night - at least there are plenty of opportunities to brighten the darker evenings.  The shorter days mean that we have to make the most of what daylight there is and there are still apples on the tree waiting to be picked.  It has been a bumper crop everywhere this year and our apple tree which has previously produced less than a dozen rather wizened specimens is this year laden with fruit with boughs bent over and touching the ground.  The apples are small but sweet and will come in useful in pies, cakes, crumbles and chutneys, as have all the others generously given by neighbours.  All this fruit in gardens and hedgerows is not necessarily an indicator of a hard winter ahead - but of the mild Spring we had this year which allowed all the blossom to set.

There have been some magnificent fungi in the garden and woods - far more than I have been able to identify.  Here are a few of the finer examples A giant puffball the size of a football, a magnificent Fly Agaric and A pebble fungus - well named as is hides in the path.

The other indicator that winter is approaching is the loss of the cattle from the fields.  Today has been the day when Coopers lorry has trundled up and down the lane to fetch the cows to their winter quarters in the steading.  They don't sound too happy as they go past but no doubt will appreciate the warmth and security of their indoor winter home.  We miss seeing them in the fields all around us but will probably get a chance to visit them later in the year when they are settled in.  Every year there are calves born in the steading who first experience the joy of the meadow when they emerge again in Spring.

There is something about the 'transition' seasons - Spring and Autumn - that is quite magical.  There are changes every day and I look forward to cosy nights by the fire and the Christmas lights ahead.  

The Aber Yew

On the walk to the loch the other morning I noticed a number of yew seeds that had fallen from this old yew.  The yew is a very slow growing tree and this one is reputed to be several hundred years old.  The leaflet on the Aber path tells the story associated with the tree and describes how the yew tree was a gathering point for the cattle that were once an important part of life in the township. 

"Glens near the north of Loch Lomond were home to two clans - the Macfarlanes and the Macgregors - who were keen cattle rustlers. Whenever livestock was stolen, the local landowner had to pay his tenants for their losses. Tiring of this expense, William Cochrane of Kilmaronock signed-over the local farmlands to his tenants in the late 1600s, in return for modest payment. Once the small farmers (all of whom were fairly poor) owned the land, the cattle raids stopped!

For more than a century after that, the ‘Aber Lairds’, as the small farmers were 

known, worked the land around here. Each morning, a herdsman would blow a horn beside the yew to muster the Aber cattle. Then he’d take them to the common 

grazings on the Ring, close to the eastern end of this walk. In the evening, more 

blasts of the horn would summon the Aber folk to collect their livestock." 

This history makes it all the more distressing to see the old tree dying.  However, the fact that it has still managed to produce some seeds provides an opportunity for it to continue.  I collected several of the seeds with their fleshy red aril and have been researching the best way to propagate them.  It could take some time as yew seeds can take up to two years to germinate.  Firstly I need to simulate the stomach of a thrush or blackbird and provide some warm damp conditions for a few weeks. Then a harsh winter needs to be created as they go into the bottom of the fridge.  This may need to be repeated if nothing happens next spring.  I just hope I've got the patience and don't forget about them.  I'll report back in a couple of years to see if any of the seeds have sprouted.  Their slow growing nature means that it could be another thirty years before any new plant produces its own seeds.  Definitely a project for the long term.

Happy Brambling

I find the lure of the bramble irresistible and this has been a very good year for blackberries.  The hedgerows are laden with plump purple berries.  The rewards are worth the trials - the scratched hands and stained fingers.
As if the prickles of the bramble weren't weapon enough to deter the picker, they also manage to grow amidst a host of the other well-armed plants.  There is a magnificent crop along the short cut up to the Hall but you need to be well protected.  I fought my way through nettles, hawthorn, dog roses, gorse, thistles and holly to reach the best berries.  This is where a stick comes in handy; although I found the Leki pole not nearly as effective as the old fashioned walking stick with the curved handle for grabbing that best spray of fruit that always seems to be just out of reach.
Once home the brambles have quickly been converted into jelly and blackberry and apple tarts.  I experimented this year and made some little filo tarts in muffin tins.  

Each sheet of filo pastry was cut into four and then two small sheets placed into the muffin tin at an angle to each other.  Layers of apple, blackberries were added with a little sugar (or granulated sweetener) between each layer.  Baked in a hot oven for about ten minutes they were delicious with a small dollop of creme fraiche or ice cream.  This batch didn't last long.
The first batch of jelly that I made was with pure blackberry juice but with the second batch I followed the recipe form the Glasgow Cookbook which includes apples with the berries.  I think I prefer the intensity of flavour of the pure bramble jelly.  It takes me back to my childhood and I still find hot buttered toast with bramble jelly one of life's pleasures.