Thursday, 30 June 2022
Works to develop Glentress and deliver the Masterplan are well under way. Our trail builder, ‘On Track’ is busy on the new taster trails, adding new routes to the Red, Blue and Green Trails, and they will be on site for another few months. This week our contractor GTR Ltd. has started preparing the ground and area to support the delivery of the new access road and Finish Line area. This will...
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. On 20 June the young osprey chicks in the main nest were seen panting in the heat and indulging in a few sibling squabbles. Nothing serious but those sharp beaks are weapons not to be ignored. It seems that to disengage in battle, osprey style, is to put your head right down almost into the nes...
Monday, 27 June 2022
Rachel Orchard is one of our Trees and Timber Apprentices working from our base in Durris, Aberdeenshire. As a newcomer to the forestry sector she has hit the ground running by winning the Lantra ALBAS award for Learner of the Year. After almost a year in the role, we asked Rachel to give us her thoughts on modern forestry, the challenges faced, and how young people can thrive in this industry. ...
Tuesday, 21 June 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. The Tweed Valley Osprey Project volunteers and staff from Forestry and Land Scotland held a celebratory get together for the first time since the pandemic began, on Friday 17 June. The reason for the celebration was the unveiling of a beautiful painting of osprey White Leg SS in the Glentress W...
Monday, 20 June 2022
They say you should plan your meals, but never a picnic - and this is doubly true in Scotland where, even during peak summer time, our weather can be changeable! Below, we've got suggestions for easy-to-access picnic spots near you, suggestions for snacks, main meals and drinks, and even some ideas for alternative activities and destinations in case it starts to rain cats and dogs. Find the per...
Wednesday, 15 June 2022
The damage caused by storms Arwen and Corrie could speed up efforts to restore a strip of land along the River South Esk and the White Water in Glen Doll, Angus. About a third of conifers on this site came down. These conifers would have been slowly removed in the next 30 – 40 years to widen and improve the riparian zone running through the forest. The recent storms have sped up this process...
Tuesday, 14 June 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. > A young chick hopping about in the nest This week, at the main nest in Tweed Valley, we have seen some very good sized brown trout being brought in to the nest by the male, PW3, for his family. The three chicks are doing very well and are being fed so tenderly by Mrs O. It is encouragi...
Tuesday, 07 June 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. The osprey chicks at the main Tweed Valley nest hatched a couple of days apart - two on 29 May and the third two days later. This small time gap makes a lot of difference in terms of physical appearance and stature of the youngest chick. It is quite obviously smaller and weaker than its older si...
Tuesday, 31 May 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. We have much to celebrate at the Tweed Valley Osprey Project this week because, on 29 May, Mrs O stood up on the main nest to reveal that two of her chicks had hatched. The third egg was still visible in the nest but the two wriggly little hatchlings were squirming about and probably feeling ve...
Monday, 30 May 2022
After almost two years of COVID-19 delays, work is beginning on delivery of the Glentress Masterplan, including new mountain bike trails, walking trails and increased visitor car parking space. It’s exciting to see things finally happening on the ground. Over the next few months, we’ll be constructing trails and trail features and a new activity area. Robertson’s Construction, and expert tr...
Tuesday, 24 May 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Good news is being received across the UK from osprey watchers at sites where chicks are beginning to hatch. Congratulations are due to Loch of the Lowes, Kielder, Rutland and Dyfed who all now have little hatched ospreys in their area. Expected hatching time first week of June for Mrs O and ...
Wednesday, 18 May 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Mrs O and PW3 have had a few disturbances this week and have been seen looking skywards in alarm. PW3 has been hunkering down over the eggs, adopting a defensive, wings out posture and alarm calling. We cannot see what has caused the alarm and have to surmise that it is most likely another ospr...
Monday, 16 May 2022
Sitka spruce. It’s the most common productive tree in Britain. But why has this native of the pacific coast of North America become so widespread in NW Europe? In this article we look at where Sitka comes from, why it has been so widely adopted and what the future holds for it. Origins and statistics Sitka spruce is named after the community of Sitka in southeast Alaska. Its natu...
Friday, 13 May 2022
Tweed Valley Osprey Project Co-ordinator, Di Bennett, brings us the latest update from the nest. Things seem to be progressing nicely at the Tweed Valley main nest site. We are happy to report there have not been any dramas so far this season. Mrs O and PW3 have three eggs in the nest and the long process of incubation is taking place. PW3 was very late back compared to Mrs O and she had t...