Update From the Reserve – September 2022

As the winter months draw closer we are making the most of the more ‘forgiving conditions’ before the weather turns. Read on to meet our new arrival and get some behind-the-scenes content on how we try to capture the perfect shot!

A Wee ‘Bute’

This month we have another new hedgehog arrival, and one of the youngest we have seen this season so far. This wee one was handed into us by a local lady and was named Bute by the team (after Skye & Iona, it felt like a logical next addition). When Bute arrived she was less than half of the hibernation release weight, but she is already showing significant improvement. On her arrival on the 7th of September she weighed in at 241g, however, in only a matter of weeks her weight has more than doubled to 644g!

Currently, Bute is the only hedgehog in our Hedgehog Hospital where she can be monitored closely. However, with such fast improvements, she will soon be released into the Forever Home where she will continue her recovery and then after a couple more weeks be released back into the wild.

If you would like more news on Bute and other Reserve Updates, make sure to join our Community Group on Facebook. It’s a great place to see videos and pictures of all of our Highland Titles Reserves and be the first to hear all of our latest news.

Playing Our Part

Ever since our Duror Reserve has been established, involving and giving back to the local community has been incredibly important to us. A key way we have found we can do this is through the role we can play in educating the younger generation on conservation and rural life.

We have worked in collaboration with local schools for many years, going into schools to give talks and/or have the children visit the Reserve to share in on the activities and get a hands on experience of what we do. This covers a variety of different topics including Tree planting, understanding the importance of bees, rhododendron clearance, and we even offered a Rural Skills Course with a qualification at the end!

Local Radio Slot

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.

Behind the Scenes

Getting the perfect shot is not for the faint-hearted. Here is Heather up at 5.00am in camouflage trying to capture the perfect sunrise pictures. Sadly no sunrise this time but she did manage to capture a lovely misty morning.

Clip of the Month: Birds Eye View

Marc, from Cuillin Collective on Skye, has put together quite a few videos for us over the years and this is a wee selection from his drone work on four of our Reserves.

Can you spot which clips are which from which Reserve: Duror, Mountainview, Glen Nant & Kilnaish, though?