The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13
The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13
The Nature of Scotland â Autumn 2011 â Issue 13
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SNH Area News<br />
Northern Isles and North Highland<br />
Correspondents: Tom Kellett, Kevin Riley, Donna Yule<br />
Talking turbines<br />
Noss goes silver<br />
Bumblebee boost<br />
Earlier this summer, we hosted two<br />
drop-in events with Community<br />
Energy <strong>Scotland</strong> (CES) for anyone<br />
interested in developing small-scale<br />
wind turbines in Caithness. <strong>The</strong> aim<br />
was to give advice to developers on<br />
the potential impact <strong>of</strong> turbines on the<br />
natural heritage <strong>of</strong> Caithness. CES staff<br />
advised on whether the projects were<br />
feasible.<br />
<strong>The</strong> flat nature <strong>of</strong> the Caithness<br />
landscape makes it very sensitive to<br />
the impact <strong>of</strong> large numbers <strong>of</strong> wind<br />
turbines. <strong>The</strong> Caithness peatlands<br />
and lochs are also home to important<br />
habitats and bird populations. <strong>The</strong><br />
development <strong>of</strong> renewable technologies<br />
makes a significant contribution<br />
towards tackling climate change.<br />
However, developers also need to<br />
consider how their proposals will affect<br />
the environment.<br />
<strong>The</strong> two events attracted about 40<br />
people, who said they felt it was useful<br />
to discuss their ideas and receive<br />
advice at an early stage. This can<br />
avoid unforeseen problems cropping<br />
up later when it can be more difficult<br />
to make changes. Many <strong>of</strong> the issues<br />
involved impacts on birds within the<br />
area, particularly through collision and<br />
disturbance. Caithness has a wealth<br />
<strong>of</strong> sites designated for breeding and<br />
wintering bird populations, and we<br />
have responsibilities to protect these<br />
species, whether the turbines are<br />
located within or outwith these sites.<br />
<strong>The</strong> annual Noss National <strong>Nature</strong><br />
Reserve open day celebrated its silver<br />
jubilee in July this year. <strong>The</strong> first event<br />
took place back in June 1986 and has<br />
grown in popularity, with around 6,500<br />
people having made the ferry crossing<br />
to Noss over the past 25 years.<br />
<strong>The</strong> open day is part <strong>of</strong> the Shetland<br />
<strong>Nature</strong> Festival programme. Activities<br />
included talks and demonstrations,<br />
children’s games and face painting.<br />
For the more energetic, there were also<br />
guided walks led by local experts to see<br />
the seabird colonies and seals. SNH<br />
run a free bus from the Bressay ferry<br />
terminal to the Noss car park and this<br />
year we attracted 250 visitors.<br />
“<strong>The</strong> open day is always a great<br />
chance for anyone who’s never been<br />
to Noss to see why the island attracts<br />
visitors from around the world,”<br />
commented Glen Tyler, SNH’s reserve<br />
manager, “as well as being a fantastic<br />
day <strong>of</strong> free fun for the family.<br />
“We’re really lucky because this year<br />
the sun shone and the seas were calm.<br />
Last year’s open day had to be called<br />
<strong>of</strong>f due to bad weather, but remarkably<br />
it has only been cancelled twice in the<br />
last 25 years.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> range <strong>of</strong> the great yellow<br />
bumblebee is moving farther north in<br />
<strong>Scotland</strong>. So a local Orkney group has<br />
developed a native wildflower seed<br />
bank that can be used to create good<br />
habitat for the species. Organisers are<br />
hoping to supply seed to three large<br />
developments in Orkney.<br />
<strong>The</strong> project started in 2008 with the<br />
planting <strong>of</strong> several wildlflower species<br />
at a site at Orkney College. <strong>The</strong> seed<br />
was collected at the end <strong>of</strong> each<br />
flowering season and Orkney Islands<br />
Council gave permission in 2009 for<br />
the use <strong>of</strong> a field at Happy Valley to<br />
improve the area’s wildlife.<br />
Volunteers – including pupils from<br />
Kirkwall Grammar School, who were<br />
doing their John Muir Award – have<br />
planted the seeds collected by the<br />
group. This year, a range <strong>of</strong> plants have<br />
flowered including ragged robin, bird’s<br />
foot trefoil, red clover, water avens, cat’s<br />
ear, meadow vetchling, knapweed, selfheal<br />
and kidney vetch.<br />
Projects <strong>of</strong> this kind can make a<br />
big difference to local wildlife and they<br />
rely largely on local volunteer effort.<br />
<strong>The</strong> group is hoping to encourage more<br />
volunteers and community groups in the<br />
future to help collect seed in some <strong>of</strong><br />
the isles and for Happy Valley.<br />
42 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Nature</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Scotland</strong>