Update From the Reserve – October 2022

Written by: Stewart Borland
Published: 3rd November 2022

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This is a special month for us – Highland Titles turns 16! It’s been quite the journey and there is no slowing down. Read on as we reflect on some of our memorable moments and welcome some new faces to the Highland Titles Family.

A Birthday Surprise – 3 New Kittens!

This is the ultimate surprise. Our girl Hope is the mother to 3 more bundles of fluff. To the best of our knowledge, Hope has never been out of her enclosure so we are bewildered as to how this happy accident occurred. Perhaps a local cat ‘knows where she lives and somehow managed to scale the fence, and maneuver past the 6 electric wires that cover the top. No small feat but all in the name of ‘love’ we guess. The 2 new arrivals are the spitting image of their older siblings – Stripey and Socks, Hope’s first litter. One with white socks and another darker and stripier (signs they could be full siblings perhaps?).

Another striking similarity is the runt of the litter – our wee fighter. You may remember there was a 3rd kitten in Stripey and Socks’ litter who unfortunately didn’t make it. We feared history was repeating itself once more, when we spotted the wee one lying out of the den shivering, cold and wet from the rain. Stewart, picked up the kitten, with only his Highland Titles Woolly hat to act as a glove for protection (not something we recommend trying at home?!) and moved it closer to Hope. Take a look at our rescue attempt here.

Since then all 3 of the kittens are busy causing mischief and there are now 4 cameras in the enclosures to try and keep an eye on things and capture it all! If you would like to keep up to date with all the latest kitten news be sure to join our Highland Titles Community Facebook group.

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A Very Sweet 16 Years

This month Highland Titles celebrated its 16th Birthday. We have come a long way since the first few plots were sold on the Tulloch Farm and have since grown into a 300,000+ community of Lords and Ladies coming together to conserve and protect 6 Nature Reserves. This landmark sparks a moment of reflection. We have put the time to good use with projects including paths, cabins (including ranger hut, visitor reception, hedgehog hospital) lochans, bridges, habitat boxes, bee hives and even the largest bug hotel in the world!
Here’s to the next 16. We are excited to see what we can work together to do next!

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A Winter Retreat

For the last couple of months, we have had a weekly slot on the local radio station, Nevis Radio, where we discuss the latest news from the Reserve. Take a listen to our most recent conservation.

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Cleaning Up

Following the recent felling of the sitka trees, there was a lot of debris left behind, a mix of logs and all the stripped branches. These were driven over and managed to create an unexpected ‘wooden decking’. As you can imagine this would get in the way of our native tree planting. Finally, after 3 different attempts, we managed to find a machine combo with the strength to lift and clear the ‘decking’. All that’s needed now is some dry weather so we can burn the piles left behind. e this time but she did manage to capture a lovely misty morning.