News and views from around the countryside
LET’S GO OUTSIDE Scotland’s Best Outdoors is a celebration of all things great about the country’s outdoors. From kite-surfi ng off the Aberdeen coast to fi shing in the Spey, or even just making the most of our natural fl ora and fauna in your own back garden, this exhibition has something to offer everyone. 9-10 March at AECC in Aberdeen.
www.scotlandsbestoutdoors.com
TINY TRAVELLERS
A tracking device, which weighs less than a paperclip, has helped scientists uncover one of the world’s great bird migrations. The RSPB, working in collaboration with the Swiss Ornithological Institute and Dave Okill of the Shetland Ringing Group, fi tted individual geolocators to ten red-necked phalaropes nesting on the island of Fetlar in Shetland, in the hope of learning where they spend the winter. After successfully recapturing one of the tagged birds when it returned to Fetlar, experts discovered it had made an epic 16,000 mile round trip during its annual migration – fl ying from Shetland across the Atlantic, south down the eastern seaboard of the US, across the Caribbean, and Mexico, ending up off the coast of Peru.
Protection for migratory raptors A conference has been held in Edinburgh to increase international action to conserve
raptors across Africa and Eurasia. At least 32 of the 60 migratory raptors assessed have an unfavourable conservation status, with many showing long-term population decline due to habitat loss, unlawful killing and land-use practices. Scottish Natural Heritage hosted the international meeting to develop an action plan to aid raptors in Scotland, as well as birds from more exotic locales, such as short-tailed snake eagles and Spanish imperial eagles.
EROSION ACTION A scientifi c study of erosion of the dunes at Golspie in Sutherland has recommended that the area is re- profi led with a new ridge and that aggregate is imported to protect the coastline from further losses. This type of work has been successfully carried out in other places such as St Andrews. The dunes are eroding due to rising sea levels as a result of climate change and other factors. Man-made hard coastal defences further up the coast have reduced the supply of natural materials to the area to help combat these effects.
HYDRO SCHEME DEE-LIGHT Plans for a new hydro scheme and fi sh pass for Culter Burn on the River Dee, which could bring signifi cant long-term ecological benefi ts to protected species, have been approved by councillors. The site lies within the River Dee Special Area of Conservation and boasts otters, freshwater pearl mussels, and Atlantic salmon among its protected species. The development will allow access to an additional 73 kilometres of watercourse to salmonid fi sh, which carry the mussel larvae and could allow the colonisation of the habitats in the upper reaches.
www.riverdee.org.uk
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PHOTO: ADAM ROWLANDS
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