With Linda Mellor

The weather continues to baffle us with its unexpected highs and lows. All too often we experienced unseasonal warmth, sudden torrential downpours and sunrise temperatures hovering around zero.

However, the 2022 weather had been kind to wildlife this year. As I write, the mature stags on the hill are looking good for the rut, and the annual roaring in the glens started earlier than usual. The birdsong had a spring-like melody as we progressed through September and the trees didn’t suffer the ‘false autumn’ sensationally banded about by the UK press in August. It may have happened down south but it didn’t happen here because our local trees followed their seasonal routine, and displayed a palette of golden autumnal hues. We are blessed in many ways with Scotland, none more so than the individual beauty of each season. Autumn and winter are my favourites: the muted colours spread far and wide across the land, the crisp frosts, and the snow-capped hills. Seeing the local red and roe deer in their thick winter coats fluffed out on a still wintry morn, and their warm breath hanging in the freezing air. A huge bonus during the cooler months is the lack of beasties: no more midges, clegs, and other flying, biting nuisances we can live without. I wish the tick population was killed off by the frost during the winter months but those horrors are now available to any passing human, canine, bird, or animal skin 365 days a year. There are two things the countryside can do without – ticks and bracken. Judging by the bracken growth rate, it’s been a bumper year! Bracken can provide shelter for animals, birds, and insects. It is also a food source for caterpillars and I have seen red deer nibbling away at the new growth in spring but it is a launch pad for ticks.

The shooting season exploded into life on August 12th with the lucky ones enjoying driven grouse or walked up shooting over dogs. Some estates reported record breaking bags, and grouse numbers thrived. It’s encouraging to hear the grouse population didn’t suffer the same fate as 2021 when late snow and freezing temperatures negatively impacted survival rates of the young birds.

When Her Majesty The Queen died on Thursday 8 September 2022 at Balmoral Castle at the age of 96, I found myself thinking about her amazing long life, and about all the people she met across Scotland and the world. After 70 years as our Monarch, she had been a recognisable figure in most of our lives especially so across Scotland. Although I never met her (I did meet the Queen Mother in Dysart, Fife in the late 1960s), the Queen enjoyed the Scottish countryside: shoot days with her family, her gundogs, Highland games and gatherings, garden parties and riding her Highland ponies. There was something normal and relatable about how she spent her time outdoors. In her own quiet way, she supported the Scottish countryside and all the rural activities and events we enjoy and embrace.

We are well into the stag season as estates manage their deer populations (red stag season - 1 July to 20 October). Thankfully, the disturbances from the public are lower during the colder months as people tend to take part in most outdoor activities during the warmer months. It is noticeable there are fewer people around because of the reduction in litter dumped on the estate tracks and around remote estate buildings. This year has been the worst yet, we have picked up a steady flow of litter since springtime. The most common items dumped are plastic drinks bottles, and cans. The photo below is an empty bottle of Buckfast. I don’t understand the lack of thought and the careless nature of people who litter the countryside. If you deliberately spend time in the countryside you are doing it because you want to be there, you love it, you appreciate it and you have an understanding, limited or otherwise, about how it ticks along. To go hiking or camping takes planning: you need to be mindful of your time, your kit and plan your route. At what point does mindful turn into mindless when walkers or campers dump their rubbish on a remote track in the hills? At what point do they think it’s acceptable to do this?

Over the years rural workers across Scotland have had to adapt to a changing job, often without additional training or salary increase but the expectation to absorb more responsibilities is ever present. I never imaged litter picking was going to be part many rural workers jobs but it sure as hell is a vital one in helping to keep our countryside clean and beautiful.

Heading to the Hills is a great website. https://www.

outdooraccess-scotland. scot/practical-guide-all/ heading-scottish-hills

by Linda Mellor