Annualreviewofscientificmonitoring2009

DamianBubb

ii

Reviewofscientificmonitoring2009

Summary

1. ThreemalesandtwofemalehenharrierswerepresentatLangholminthespring.Onepairnestedsuccessfullywithfiveyoungfledging.Thelownumberofbreedingfemalespresent

continuesthetrendofrecentyearswiththenumbersofnestingharriersatLangholmthelowestsincedetailedmonitoringstartedin1992.

2. Diversionaryfoodwasprovidedinthespringinonemalehenharrierterritory.Nohenharrierswereobservedtakinganydiversionaryfoodinthespring.

3. Diversionaryfoodwasprovidedclosetotheharriernestonceyounghadhatched.Only

harrierswereobservedtakingfoodfromthenestfeedingpostsandatotalof224ratsand821dayoldchickswereremovedfromtheposts.

4. Watchesoftheharriernestswereconductedtorecordpreydeliveryandidentification.Atotalof52preyitemswereobservedbeingboughttothenests.Passerineswerethe

majorityofidentifiedpreyitems(54%)withdiversionaryfoodforming29%.Nogrousewererecordedbeingdeliveredtothenest.

5. Monitoringofperegrine,merlin,ravenandbuzzardnestsacrosstheprojectareawasconductedbyacombinationofraptorstudygroupworkersandLMDPstaff.Withinthe

projectareaand1kmoftheboundarytherewere:2successfulperegrinepairs,1successfulmerlinpair,5successfulpairsofraven,8successfulbuzzardnests.

6. Redgrouseabundancederivedfromdistancesamplingshowedsubstantialincreaseindensityin2009comparedwith2008.Springdensitieshadincreasedfrom21.1(95%C.I.

17.6,25.4)birdskm‐2to38.6(28.4,52.6)andJuly/earlyAugustfrom45.7(37.5,55.8)in2008to99.5(80.4,123.1)in2009.

7. Breedingsuccessofredgrousehadimprovedcomparedto2008.Ameanof4.6youngper

henwasrecordedduringJulygrousecounts.Themeanclutchsizeofradiotaggedhenswas9.5andmeanbroodsizeat50daysofradiotaggedhenswas4.17.

8. Atotalof45redgrousehavebeenradiotagged.Todatethreetagshavebeenrecoveredwithnocarcass.Threeradiotaggedbirdshavebeenrecoveredfollowingpredationbyfoxes

andsixradiotaggedgrousehavebeenpredatedbyraptors.Afurtherbirdhasbeenrecovered;causeofdeathwasunclearbutnosignsofpredation.

9. Atotalof35caecalsamplesfromredgrousewerecollectedduringautumn2009andanalysedtoestimateTrichostrongylustenuiswormburdensingrouseatLangholm.The

meanwormperbirdwas907(min0,max4347).

10. 25speciesofbirdwererecordedduringbreedingbirdtransects.Abundanceofwaders,meadowpipitandskylarkweresimilartorecentyears.Curlew,lapwingandgoldenploverabundanceismuchreducedcomparedtothatrecordedduringtheJRS.

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11. Smallmammaltrappingin2009recorded0.77smallmammalsper100trapnights.Allmammalstrappedwerefieldvoles.2009appearstohavebeenacrashvoleyearfollowinga

peakin2008.

12. Foxabundancewasestimatedfromscatscollectedatmonthlyintervals(April,May,June)alongapproximately50kmoftransectsacrossthemoor.Therewasasubstantialdecreaseinfoxscatabundancein2009comparedto2008from0.040scats/km/dayin2008to0.008

scats/km/dayin2009.

13. Mustelid(stoatandweasel)abundanceindiceswereestimatedfromfootprinttrackingtunnelsdeployedinspringandautumnfortwoweeks.Tunnelsgaveapositivescoreof3%and22%inMarchandSeptemberrespectively.Springabundanceofmustelidswaslowin

2009incomparisonwithrecentyearsbutinautumnabundancewassimilartopreviousyears.

14. Weeklyrecordsofeffortandpredatorskilledhavebeenkeptbykeepers

15. 400permanentvegetationquadratshavebeenestablishedacrosstheprojectarea.Theseweresurveyedin2008andwillberesurveyedinsubsequentyearstoallowchangesin

vegetation,principallyheather,tobemonitored.

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Contents

Pagenumber 1. Breedingsuccessofraptorsandravens 1

Henharrier 2

Peregrine 2Raven 2Merlin 2

Buzzard 2Goshawk 2Short‐earedowl ` 2

2. Diversionaryfeeding 3Springfeeding 3Summerfeeding 3

3. Harrierpreyidentityanddeliveryrates 44. Redgrouse 4

Blockcounts 4

Distancesamplingtransects 5Breedingsuccess 6Overwintersurvival 8

Radiotracking 8Parasiteburden 8

5. Blackgrouse 96. Breedingbirdsurveys 97. Smallmamalsurveys 13

8. Mammalpredatorabundance 14Foxes 14Mustelid 15

9. Predatorcontrolrecords 1610. Vegetationmonitoring 19

Aerialphotographs 19

Permanentquadrats 19Brackencontrol 26Stocklevels 27

Fires 28

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1. Breedingsuccessofraptorsandravens

Henharriers

MalebirdswereobservedfrommidMarchonwards,withthreemalespresent(oneofwhichwasa

firstyearbird).ExtensivechecksweremadeofallpreviouslyusednestinghabitatsbutdisplayingmaleswererestrictedtotheareasurroundingTarrasValley.TwofemaleswerepresentatLangholmMoorbutonlyasinglefemalenestedwithoneoftheestablishedmales.Fiveeggswerelaidallof

whichhatchedandsubsequentlyfledged.Allchickswerewingtaggedandringed.Coloursusedforwingtaggingwereyellowonleftwingandgreenontherightwing.

Thesinglenestin2009isthelowestnumberofharriersnestingatLangholmsince1992whendetailedmonitoringbeganandcontinuesthepatternoflownumbersnestingobservedinrecent

years(Figure1)

Figure1.Numbersofa)breedingfemalehenharriersandb)meannumberofyoungfledgedper

femaleatLangholmMoor1992‐2009.

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Peregrine

AlltraditionalsitesbothwithintheLMDPboundaryandintheimmediatesurroundingareawere

checkedforoccupancy.Thenumbersbreedingontheprojectareaandintheimmediatevicinityweresameasin2008.Asinglesiteontheprojectareawasoccupiedfromwhichoneyoungfledged.Inadditionafurthersiteabout500mfromprojectboundary wasalsooccupied,fledgingfourchicks.Youngatbothnestswereringedwithconventionalmetalringsandwithringsincorporatingpassiveintegratedtransponder(PIT)tags.

Raven

Alltraditionalnestsiteswithintheprojectareawerechecked.Numbersandlocationofbreedingpairswerethesameasin2008withatotaloffourpairsofravensnestingontheprojectarea,anda

furtherpair<500mfromtheprojectboundary.Allnestsweresuccessfulwithbetween1and5chicksfledging.Chicksfrommostnestswereringed.

Merlin

Asinglemerlinnestwaslocatedwithintheprojectarea.Afurtherpairwaspresentinthespringbut

didnotnest.5eggswerelaidallofwhichhatchedandfledged.The5juvenileswereallringed.

Buzzard

Eightactivebuzzardnestswerelocatedacrosstheprojectareaallofwhichsuccessfullyfledgedyoung(average1.88youngfledgedpernest).

Goshawk

NoGoshawknestedwithintheprojectarea.Asinglepairwereknowtobepresentinforestry(<5kmfromtheprojectboundary)andsuspectedtohavebredtothesouthoftheprojectareabutthenest

wasnotlocated.

Short‐earedowl

AdultswereobserveddisplayinginthevicinityofNY4486duringthespringandtwofledgedyoungwereobservedinthearea.

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2. Diversionaryfeeding

DiversionaryfeedingofharriersatLangholmin2009followedthemethoddescribedbyRedpathet

al.2001.Inspringfoodwasprovidedinasinglemaleterritory,provisionofdiversionaryfoodceasedduringincubationandonhatchingtheclutchwasprovidedwithfoodforafurther60days.

Springfeeding

Feedingwascarriedoutfor28daysinthespringinasingleterritory.Atotalof56ratsand224dayoldchickswereprovided,oftheseonly10dayoldchickswereremoved.Thiscontrastswith2008

when21.4%ofratsand37.5%ofdayoldchickswereremovedfromthefeedingposts.Asin2008henharrierswereagainnotobservedtakinganyofthefoodwiththeonlyfoodthatwasobservedbeingtakenfromthefeedingpostsinthespringtakenbyafemaleMontagu’sharrier.

SummerFeeding

Duringsummerfeedingwhentheharriershadchicksatotalof224ratsand821cockerelchickswereremovedfromfeedingposts.Thisisover75%ofthedayoldcockerelchicksand76%oftheratswhichwereprovidedasdiversionaryfood(Table1.).

Table1.Proportionofdiversionaryfoodprovidedandremovedfromthefeedingpostsatthetwo

harriernests.

Foodprovided Foodtaken(%)Nest Whiterats Dayoldchicks Whiterats Dayoldchicks2008(1) 180 765 19(10.6%) 464(61.0%)2008(2) 188 886 47(25.0%) 612(69.1%)2009(1) 293 1089 224(76.5%)* 821(75.4%)**excludes3daysforwhichdataisunavailable

Overthesummerfeedingperiodonlyharriersappearedtotakethediversionaryfood.Allrecordsfromcamerasonthefeedingpostswereoffemale/juvenileharrierstakingfoodfromtheposts.Potentialscavengers(crow,rook,raven,buzzard)whichwereobservedinthevicinityofthenest

wereaggressivelymobbedbythehenharriersandwerenotrecordedbycamerasorobservedduringhidewatchesoropportunisticallytakinganyfood.

Harriersdidnotimmediatelytakefoodfromthefeedingpostsonceeggshadhatchedandfoodwasbeingprovided.Toencouragetheharrierstotakethediversionaryfoodwhendiversionaryfoodwas

beingprovidedbutnottakenbyharriersadayoldchickwastornopenandplacedontheedgeofthenesttotryandconditiontheharriersintoassociatingthedayoldcockerelchicksonthepostwithfood.Thiswasrepeateddailyuntilharriersstartedtakingfoodfromtheposts(eightdaysafter

feedingcommenced).

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3. Harrierpreyidentityanddeliveryrates

Toexamineharrierdietwhilstrearingtheirchicks,ahidewaserected5‐7mfromthenest(after

beinggraduallymovedclosertothenestoverseveraldays).Atotalof46.34hrsobservationduring2009wasconductedstratifiedbothacrossdaylighthoursandtimefromhatching.

Atotalof52itemswereobservedbeingboughttotheharriernest(Table2).Themajorityoffooditemsdeliveredtothenestwerepasserines(63%)withdiversionaryfoodaccountingforafurther

37%ofthefood.Nogrousewereobservedbeingboughttothenest.

Table2.Numbersandidentityofpreyobservedboughttoharriernestswhilstconductinghidewatches.

Nest 2008(1) 2008(2) 2009(1)

Total(%)

Dayoldchick(diversionaryfood)

17 14 13 44(28)

Rat(diversionaryfood)

0 0 6 6(4)

Passerine 25 32 33 90(57)Meadowpipit 14 23 23 Unidentified 11 9 10

Smallmammal 2 2 0 4(3)Lizard 11 0 0 11(7)Unidentifiedfood 3 0 0 3(2)Totalfooditems 58 48 52 158

4. Redgrouse

Grousewerecountedtwiceusingpointerdogs.ThefirstcountwasconductedinlateMarch/early

Apriltodeterminepre‐breedingdensitiesandagaininthesecondhalfofJuly/earlyAugusttoassessbreedingsuccessandpostbreedingdensities.TwomethodswereusedtocountthegrouseatLangholm;blockcountsanddistancesamplingtransects.

BlockCounts

Grousehavebeencountedinthesameten50haplotseachspringandJulysince1992.Eachblockis

countedalongparalleltransectsthatattempttoensurethattherangingareaofthedogdoesnotoverlapbutdoesnotmissareaseither.Ineffectthismeansthateachblockisusuallycountedbythreeparalleltransects,withatotalof3kmwalkedwithapointerrangingeithersideofthe

observer.Whilsttheaimistocoverallthegroundwhenconductingblockcountsthisisusuallynotachievedespeciallywhenusingdogswhichdonotrangefarfromtheobserver(ashasbeenthecaseatLangholmsinceJuly/earlyAugustcountsin2008).Thiscommonlyresultsintheestimateof

densityfromblockcountsbeinglowerthanthatderivedfromdistancesamplingasisseenatLangholmin2009.

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Springgrousenumberscontinuedtoshowagradualincreaseinnumberssincealowin2003(Figure

2).In2009atotalof80grousewerecountedrepresentingadensityof16birdskm‐2.Julycountsshowedasubstantialincreaseindensityoverrecentyearswithatotalof228birds(youngandold)countedwithameandensityof45.6birdskm‐2.

Figure2.Averagedensityofgrouseina)springandb)July/earlyAugustwithin10traditional0.5km2blocksatLangholm.Errorbarsrepresent1standarderror.Inspringcountsin2007and2008andJulycountsin2007thetwoLodgegillblockswerenotcountedbutforpurposesofcomparing

betweenyearsitisassumedthatnogrousewerepresentintheseblocksintheseyears.

Distancesamplingtransects

35.1kmoflinetransectswereestablishedin2008andcounted.ThedistancesamplingtransectsrunacrosstheheathergroundatLangholmandarespacedatapproximately500mintervals.Eachtransectwaswalkedwithatrainedpointerandallgrouseflushedwererecorded.Thedistancefrom

theobservertoeachpointwasrecorded(measuredatrightanglesfromthetransectline).Thisenablestheeffectivesearchareaofthedogtobecalculated.Theareasearchedcanvaryconsiderablybetweendifferentpointers,usingdistancesamplingaccountsforthisvariation.Inthe

distancesamplinganalysisbothcountsofbirdsmadeintheblocksandonthelinetransectsareincludedasdistancetopointwasmeasuredbothduringblockcountsanddistancesamplingtransects.

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Spring08 165birds Transectlength=59.1km(35.1kmlinetransects+8blocks(each3km))

Stripwidth=66.2m(95%ConfidenceInterval:55.1,79.5) Springdensity=21.1(17.55,25.35)grousekm‐2

July08 258birds Transectlength65.1km Stripwidth=43.4m(35.5,52.9) Julydensity=45.7(37.5,55.8)grousekm‐2

Spring09 197birds Transectlength65.1km Stripwidth39.15(28.79,53.25) Springdensity=38.6(28.4,52.6)grousekm‐2July09 525birds Stripwidth40.53(32.76,50.15) JulyDensity=99.5(80.4,123.1)grousekm‐2

Figure3.DensityofredgrouseatLangholmderivedfromdistancesampling.Barsshow95%CI.

Breedingsuccess

Allhenswhichhadradiotags(n=15)operatinginthespringnested.Meanclutchsizewas9.5.Threenestsofradiotaggedbirdsfailedtohatch.Twonestingattemptsfailedduetohensbeingpredated

byraptors.Afurthernestfailedpossiblyduetodesertionbythehengrousewithpartial(2/7)predationofeggs(eggscompletelyremoved).Fromthenestswhichsuccessfullyhatched(n=12)ameanof8.3eggshatched.Hatchdateofmonitorednestsrangedfrom18‐24/5/09withmeanhatch

date21/5/09.

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Radiotaggedhensandwereflushedwithapointeron11/6/09(21days)and9/7/09(50days)and

theareasearchedfor5minsandallyoungflushedcounted.Averagebroodsizeat21dayswas3.92andat50days4.17.

TheaveragenumberofyoungperhencountedduringJuly/earlyAugustcountswas4.6(Figure4).

Figure4.NumberofyoungperhencountedduringJulycountsatLangholm.Circlesrefertogrouse

countedwithinthe10traditionalblockareas.Insomeyearsadditionalareaswerecountedtrianglesrefertoallgrousecountedwithinthoseyears.

Figure5.SizedistributionofgrousebroodsrecordedduringJulycountsin2008and2009.

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Table3.Breedingsuccessofredgrousein2008and2009.InformationderivedfromJuly/early

Augustgrousecounts.

2008 2009

Young/hen(mean(S.E.)) 3.12(0.41) 4.60(0.30)

Broodsize(mean(S.E.)) 4.4(0.42) 4.91(0.29)Broods/hen 0.71 0.94

Overwintersurvival

Overwintersurvivalbetweenthe2008July/earlyAugustcountsandMarchwashigh.Whenjustthe

blockcountareasareconsideredsurvivalwasestimatedat91%in2008/09comparedto66%in2007/08winter.Utilisingthedistancesamplingestimatesofdensitytheestimatedoverwintersurvivalin08/09was84.5%.

Radiotracking

Atotalof45redgrousehavebeenradiotagged.Todatethreetagshavebeenrecoveredwithno

carcass.Threeradiotaggedbirdshavebeenrecoveredfollowingpredationbyfoxes.Sixgrousehavebeenpredatedbyraptors.Afurtherbirdhasbeenrecovered;causeofdeathwasunclearbutnosignsofpredation.

Table4.NumberandfateofradiotaggedredgrouseatLangholm.

MonthNumberoftaggedbirdsaliveatend

ofmonthFateoftaggedbirds

November08 9 December08 6 1raptorpredation,2tagsrecoveredwithnocarcaseJanuary09 9 February09 10 1foxpredationMarch09 23 1raptorpredationApril09 22 1unknowncause/possiblefencestrikeMay09 20 1raptorpredationJune09 19 1tagrecoverednocarcaseJuly09 22 August09 26 1foxpredation,1raptorpredationSeptember09 34 October09 31 1foxpredation,1raptorpredation

Parasiteburdens

Atotalof35caecalsamplesfromredgrousewerecollectedduringautumn2009(1/10‐14/11)and

analysedtoestimateTrichostrongylustenuiswormburdensingrouseatLangholm.26sampleswerefromgrousewhichwerecapturedandheldovernighttoobtainasamplefrombirdsofknowsexandagetheremainderwerefromcaecalsamplescollectedfromthemoorinthemorning.Wormsper

birdswascalculatedusingequationsderivedbySeivwrightetal.2004.

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Themeanwormperbirdwas907(min0,max4347)forallsamplescollected,meanforoldbirds

(n=6)1846,youngbirds(n=19)846.Thereappearedtobesomespatialvariationinwormburdenswithbirdsinthesouthernareaofthemoor(Whita,Terrrona&Middlemoss)havinghigherburdensthansamplescollectedinthenorthernpartofthemoor.

5. Blackgrouse

Thetwoknownblackgrouselekswererevisitedtwicein2009.Maximumnumbersoflekkingmales

werethesameasin2008withasinglemalebirdrepeatedlyseenatLodgegill(NY420913)andamaximumoffourlekkingmaleswererecordedintheareasurroundingNY449868.Greyhenswereobservedatbothleksandagreyhenwith3wellgrownyoungflushed<1kmfromtheLodgegilllek.

6. BreedingBirdSurveys

Theabundanceofallbirdsbutpredominantlypasserinesandwadershasbeenestimatedannuallysince1992.ThemethodologyisbasedontheBTObreedingbirdsurvey,1kmsquaresaresurveyedbytheobserverwalkingtwoparallel1kmtransects500mapartandrecordingallbirdsseenorheard.

From1992to2002asinglecountusuallyinJunewasmadeeachyear.Since2003twocountshave

beenmadewiththefirstcountusuallybetweenmid‐Aprilandmid‐Mayandrepeatedaroundlate‐MaytomidJune.Mostcountshavebeenconductedbetween5:00and9:00.From1992to2007thesame151kmsquareshavebeensurveyed,threeineachofthefivemoorlandbeats.Anadditional5

plotshavebeenaddedin2008.

Atotalof25birdspecieswererecordedduring2009(Table5).Thechangesinabundanceofthedominantpasserines(meadowpipitsandskylarks)andwadersalongwithcarrioncrowsasrecordedduringBBSsurveyssincetheJRSareshowninfigure6.

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Table5.SpeciesrecordedduringbreedingbirdsurveysatLangholmin2008&2009.

Numberofencounterskm‐1

2008 2009

SpeciesEarlycount(April‐

May)Latecount

(June)Earlycount(April‐

May)Latecount

(June)

Meadowpipit 12.9 12.2 8.15 12.0

Skylark 2.8 2.95 1.775 2.775

Curlew 0.4 0.48 0.675 0.375

Lapwing 0.03 0.13 0.025 0.05

Goldenplover 0.05 0.08 0.025 0.05

Snipe 0.05 0.2 0.1 0.075

Redgrouse 0.48 0.15 0.575 0.725

Blackgrouse 0.08 0 0.075 0.025

Henharrier 0.03 0.03 0.025 0.025

Buzzard 0.05 0.18 0.025 0.075

Carrioncrow 0.25 0.08 0.05 0.125

Raven 0.05 0 0.025 0.025

Wren 2.05 1.28 0.975 1.15

Chaffinch 0.18 0.1 0.175 0.1

Wheatear 0.08 0.08 0.025 0.1Lesserblack‐backed

gull0.08 0.03 0 0

Stonechat 0.03 0.55 0.175 0.15

Dipper 0.03 0 0 0

Blackbird 0.03 0 0 0.05

Winchat 0 0.03 0 0.025

Willowwarbler 0 0.48 0.425 0.725

Reedbunting 0 0.03 0 0.05

Greyheron 0 0.03 0 0

Sandmartin 0 0.03 0 0.25

Woodpigeon 0 0.03 0 0.05

Pheasant 0 0 0.075 0.025

Mallard 0 0 0 0.025

Goldcrest 0 0 0 0.025

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Figure6.ChangesinabundanceofselectedspeciesrecordedatLangholmduringBBSsurveys1992to2008.Solidlinereferstolate/Junecountsanddashedlinetoearly(midApril‐midMay)counts(15

kmsquarescountedinallyears).Theabundancerecordedin2008&2009inallsquares(15originalplusfiveadditionalsquares)isshownbyopencircle(earlycount)filledcircle(latecount).

Abundanceofcurlew,lapwingandgoldenploverin2009wassimilartorecentyearsalthoughtheabundanceofthesespecieshasdeclinedtoalowerlevelsincetheendofJRSandkeeperingat

Langholmceased.Meadowpipitabundancewassimilartothepreviouscoupleofyearsbuthasdeclinedfromarecentpeakinnumbersin2004.

Carrioncrownumbershavebeenrelativelyhighinrecentyears(2002onwards).In2009bothcountsrecordedcomparativelylownumbers.

7. Smallmammalsurveys

TherelativeabundanceofsmallmammalswasestimatedthroughsnaptrappinginMarch.Snap

trappingonsettransectshasoperatedatLangholmsince1992.DuringtheJRSstudy10transectlineswereestablishedandsixofthesetransectshavecontinuedtobesurveyedannuallysincethen.Thepositionoffourtransectsshiftedaccidentallyandnewpositionsweresurveyedfrom2003to

2007.In2008and200914transectsweresurveyed,the10originalpositionsandthefourmisplacedtransectlines.Fiftytrapsweresetateachtransectovertwonightstogive100trapnightspersite.

Smallmammaltrappingin2009ofthe14transectsgaveanestimateof0.77smallmammalsper100trapnights.Onlyfieldvoles(10)weretrapped.2009appearstohavebeenacrashyearinthevole

cycle.

Figure7.NumberoffieldvolestrappedatLangholminspring(per100trapnights)

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8. Mammalpredatorabundance

Foxes

Anindexoffoxabundancehasbeenderivedthroughtheuseofscattransects.Scattransectsrunalonglinearfeaturessuchaswallsandfencestoensuretherouteisaccuratelyrepeatable.An

observerwalksthetransectrecordingscats2mofeithersideofthetransect,scatswithin10mareconsideredthesameencounter.Aclear‐uproundisperformedinMarchtheneachtransectiswalkedatmonthlyintervalsinApril,MayandJune(ideallyinthelastweekofthemonth).Each

transectisapproximately10kminlength.Threetransectswereestablishedin2002andhavebeensurveyedannuallysincethen,anadditionaltwotransectswereestablishedin2008toprovidegreatercoverageoftheprojectarea.

Table6.Thenumberoffoxscatsrecordedoneachtransectduring2008&2009.

NumberofscatsTransect March

(Clearup)April May June

2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 2009 2008 20091–Terrona/Combs 63 9 28 5 6 2 3 12–Whita/Middlemoss 52 6 15 2 13 1 5 03–Arkelton/Lodgegill 65 18 49 8 19 5 5 24–TinnisHill 43 21 18 7 4 1 3 15–WatchHill 56 22 32 2 13 4 9 2

Figure8.MeannumberofscatsperkmperdayrecordedatLangholm2002‐2009duringApril,MayandJunefollowingclearupround.3transectsweresurveyedfrom2003onwardswithanadditional

twotransectsaddedin2008.

Anadditionalindexoffoxabundanceisderivedfromlampingrecordsoffoxesseenperhour(Figure9).

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Figure9.FoxesseenperhourlampingatLangholmApril2008toOctober2009.

Mustelid

Anindexofsmallmustelidabundancehasbeenobtainedusingfootprinttrackingtunnelssetinlocationslikelytobeusedbystoatsandweasels(King&Edgar1977).Anetworkoffiftytrackingtunnelswasestablishedin2002.Thesetunnelshavebeensetannuallyfor14daysinlateApril/

earlyMayandagaininSeptember.Toreflectthelargerprojectareathe50originaltunnelshavebeenaugmentedbyafurther25tunnelsplacedinnewlocationstoexpandthegeographiccoverage.In2009duringspring72/75successfullyoperatedandintheautumn72/75.Inspring2.8%of

tunnelsshowedsignsofmustelids(stoatsandweasels)whilstinautumnfootprintswererecordedin22.2%oftunnels.Springabundancein2009waslowincomparisonwithrecentyears(Figure10)butautumnabundancewasatsimilarlevelstothatrecordedinunkeeperedyears(Figure10).

Figure10.IndexofmustelidsatLangholm2002–2009.Years2002‐2007representnetworkof50tunnelswhichhaveoperatedfrom2002todate,2008onwardsinclude50originaltunnelsplus25

additionaltunnelsoperatedsince2008.

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9. Predatorcontrolrecords

Weeklyrecordsofeffortandkillsareenteredontocardsbythekeepers.Thesearepassedontotheseniorscientistforcollationandentryontoadatabase.

Todate(endofOctober)atotalof526carrioncrows,4jackdaws,5magpies,56rooks,338foxes,6mink,87stoatsand319weaselshavebeenculledbythekeeperssinceApril2008.

Table7.MonthlyvariationinthelevelofeffortdirectedtopredatorcontrolatLangholm.

Averagenumberoperatingperday

Hourslamping Snares Middens Tunneltraps Crowcages Larsens

April08 81.3 147.00 6.75 6.25 3.75 13.75

May08 103.3 101.00 8.00 41.50 6.50 26.00

June08 101.6 124.20 7.20 124.80 5.60 13.40

July08 102.8 108.75 7.75 181.75 5.00 6.25

August08 84.3 99.00 11.00 230.75 4.00 3.25

September08 132.3 135.60 11.00 232.40 2.00 1.20

October08 124.2 123.25 17.25 240.00 3.00 2.50

November08 128.6 114.25 16.00 222.75 3.25 2.00

December08 92.6 63.60 20.40 201.60 2.40 1.00

January09 112.9 123.50 14.25 283.25 3.75 1.25

February09 130.7 92.50 13.75 217.50 7.75 4.25

March09 109.8 183.60 22.40 257.40 15.40 7.00

April09 101.4 204.00 30.50 286.00 17.50 20.50

May09 88.5 133.75 31.25 300.75 15.75 22.75

June09 94.1 94.20 19.80 279.00 9.80 9.40

July09 108.7 79.00 20.50 217.50 5.75 3.50

August09 70.6 58.40 17.40 220.80 3.20 1.20

September09 119.4 93.25 22.75 224.50 0.75 0.00

October09 103.1 95.75 21.00 158.00 0.00 0.00

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Table8.NumberofpredatorsculledonamonthlybasisatLangholmutilisingtheprinciplecontrolmethods.

Carrioncrow Fox Cage Larsen Shot Shot Snare

Stoat(trap)

Weasel(trap)

April08 14 38 10 25 7 0 1May08 18 120 10 15 0 0 12June08 3 38 4 23 2 0 20July08 0 11 7 16 1 9 29August08 3 4 5 13 11 7 32September08 2 3 5 26 10 2 30October08 9 3 6 24 9 9 18November08 2 1 2 16 4 4 2December08 3 0 1 8 1 1 5January09 7 2 2 6 3 3 5February09 6 1 0 6 1 3 2March09 17 2 4 4 1 5 6April09 25 19 5 5 3 8 18May09 8 43 6 11 3 5 15June09 7 12 6 8 2 6 12July09 1 0 1 7 1 1 28August09 1 0 5 9 1 2 32September09 0 0 2 16 2 1 37October09 0 0 1 10 4 4 10Total 126 297 82 248 66 70 314

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Figure11.SpatialdistributionoffoxeskilledatLangholmAugust2008‐October2009.

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10. VegetationSurveys

AerialPhotographs

Aerialphotographsoftheprojectareaweretakeninsummer2009.ThephotographsarecurrentlybeingprocessedbySNHanditishopethattheprojectwillhaveaccesstotheseinearly2010.

Previouslyaerialphotographsoftheprojectareaweretakenin1998and1948.Fromthecoveragein2010theintentionistoassesstheheathercoverageacrosstheprojectarea.Groundtruthing(usingthepermanenttransectsandadditionalsurveysofheathercoverin2010ifnecessary)willbeused

toensureaccurateclassificationofheathercoverfromaerialphotographs.

TheaerialphotographswillalsopermitaccuratemappingofthebrackenbedsatLangholmandidentificationofareaswhereheatherburninghasbeenconducted.

PermanentQuadrats

Twenty1kmlongtransectshavebeenestablishedacrosstheprojectarea.Thetransectshavebeenstratifiedgeographicallyandbyhabitattype(blanketbog,wetheathanddryheath)andwereasfar

aspossiblepositionedtorunfromareaswithbetterheathercoverthroughtomoredegradedareas.Transectshavebeenmarkedat50mintervalswithwoodenposts.Woodenmarkersdenotethesouthcorner(offsetby5mtoavoidpotentialbiasesduetolivestock)ofa5mx5mquadratinwhich

thevegetationhasbeensurveyed.Withinthequadratthe%andheightofheatherandswardheighthasbeenestimatedvisually.Inadditionalatransecthasbeenestablishedfromthenorthtothesouthcornerofeachquadratandat10cmintervalsalongthelinetransectthepresenceorabsence

andheightofheathertothenearest5cmhasbeenrecorded.Photosofeachquadratlookingalongthelinetransectfromsouthtonorthhavebeentaken.VegetationplotsweremarkedoutandsurveyedduringSeptember2008,withtheintentiontoresurveyedevery3yearsduring

August/September.

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Figure12.Distributionof20transectsdistributedacrosstheprojectarea.

21

Table9.NVCclassificationofvegetationquadrats

Transect

Quadrat A B C D E F G H I J 1 M19 M19 H12 M25 M25/M18 M18 M23 H18 M25/M23 2 M19 M19 H12 M25 M25/M18 M18 M23 H18 M19 3 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M23 H18 M19 4 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 H18 M19 5 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 U2 M19 6 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 M25 M19 7 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 M25 M19 8 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 M25 M19 9 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 M25 M19

10 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25/M18 M18 M25 M25 M19 11 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M23 M18 M25 M25 M19 12 M19 M19 M19 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 13 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 14 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 15 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 16 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 17 M19 M19 H12 M20 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 18 M19 M19 H12 M25/M23 M25 M18 M25 M25 M19 19 M19 M19 H12 M20 M25 M18 M25 M19 M25 20 M19 M19 H12 M19 M25 M6 M25 M19 M25

Transect

Quadrat K L M N O P Q R S T 1 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 2 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M23 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 3 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M23 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 4 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 5 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M23 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 6 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 7 M19 M19 M18/M15 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 8 M19 M19 M18 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12 9 M19 M18 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12

10 M19 M19 M18 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 M25 H12 H12/M19 11 M19 M20 M18 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 H12 H12/M19 12 M19 M21 M18 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 13 M19 M22 M19 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 14 M19 M23 M19 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 15 M19 M24 M19 H12 M15 M25 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 16 M19 M25 M19 H12 M18 M25 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 17 M19 M26 M19 H12 M15 M6/M23 H10/M15 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 18 M19 M27 M19 H12 M15 M6/M23 U2 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 19 U20 M28 M19 H12 M18 M6/M23 U2 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19 20 U20 M19 M15 M6/M23 U2 U2 H12/M19 H12/M19

22

23

Figure13.Visualassessmentof%ofheatherwithin5mx5mquadrat(darkbars)andaverageheight(cm)ofheather(palegreybars)alongeach1kmlinetransect.Quadratsarenumberrunningfromwest(1)toeast(20).

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25

Figure14.%ofheatheralonglinetransectrunningdiagonallythrough5mx5mquadratmeasuredat10cmintervals(darkbars)andaverageheight(cm)ofheather(palegreybars).Quadratsarenumberrunningfromwest(1)toeast(20).

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Brackencontrol

DuringAugust2009(9‐13/8)201haofbrackenweresprayedwithAsuloxherbicide.

Figure15.MainbrackenbedsatLangholm(whiteareas)andareassprayedwithAsuloxherbicideduringsummer2009.BluelinedenotesLMDPboundary.Areanorthofredlineunderseparate

agreementforbrackentreatment.

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Stocklevels

Thestockinglevelsofthethreeinhandfarmsareshowninfigure16.ThenumbersineacharearepresentthenumberspresentatthestartoftheLMDP.During2009sheephavebeenmovedoff

twoareasofthemoor(AreaA&B)toaidheatherregeneration.InAugust2009sheepwithinAreaBweremovedtoAreaC,thesesheepwerethentakenoffthemoorcompletelyinNovember2009.ThesheepfromAreaAwereremovedfromthemoorinNovember2009andsold.

Figure16.StocklevelsatLangholmonthethreeinhandfarms(boundaryofinhandfarmsdenotedbyredline).Blacknumbersdenotenumberofsheepinheftandapproximatepositionofheft.

BoundaryofLMDPshownbyblueline.

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Fires

AllfiresburntfromMarch2009onwardshavebeenrecordedbykeepers.Thestartpointandendpoint(usingGPS)hasbeenrecordedalongwithavisualestimateofwidthofburn.PriortoMarch09

thepositionandsizeoffireswasnotrecorded.Itishopedthatthedistributionandsizeoffiresburntwillbeabletobederivedfromaerialphotos(flowninsummer2009).Detailsof146fireshavebeenrecorded.TheNVCcommunitiesatLangholm(theSSSIareaonly)weresurveyedandmappedin

2002.

ThecentrepointofeachfirewascalculatedandoverlayedontheNVCmaptoderivetheNVCcommunitiesforeachfire.TheNVCclassificationwasthenusedtoassigneachfiretogeneralvegetationtypei.e.dryheath,wetheathorblanketbog(ormixtureifonevegetationtypedidnot

dominate).

Table1.VegetationtypeoffiresitesatLangholmMarch09onwards.

NVCCommunity(ratioofNVCcommunitieswithinarea)

Area(ha)Numberof

firesH10 0.65 4

H10,H12,M19(1:1:1) 0.50 3

H12,M15(4:1) 0.11 1

H12,M19,M6(3:1:1) 0.22 1

H12,U5(1:1) 1.10 7

Dryheathtotal 2.58 16

M12,M18(1:1) 0.16 2

M18 0.38 4

M19 9.85 50

M19,M18(2:1) 0.16 2

M19,U2,H12(6:3:1) 1.77 12

M19,U5,M15,M23(3:3:2:2) 0.28 2

Blanketbogtotal 12.6 72

H10,M15(1:1) 2.58 11

H10,M15,M19,M23,U2(3:3:2:1) 0.97 7

Dry/Wetheathtotal 3.55 18

H12,M18,M19(2:1:1) 1.00 4

H12,M19(1:1) 7.89 29

Dryheath/Blanketbogtotal 8.89 33

M15,M19,H12(1:1:1) 0.22 1

M15,M18,M19(2:1:1) 1.36 5

U20 0.18 1

Total 29.36 146

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Figure17.DistributionoffiresatLanghom(March09onwards)andmainvegetationtypeatfiresite

derivedfromNVCmapping.BluelinedenotesLMDPboundary.Redareaisareaburntduringuncontrolledfire.

Theanalysisoffireareaandhabitatdoesnotincludeafirewhichbecameuncontrollableandburntanareaofapproximately0.5km2(Figure17)