Dogs to help monitor wildlife on Schiehallion

Nov 13 2009 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Friday

REMOTE controlled dogs are being trialled on part of the John Muir Trust’s EAST Schiehallion Estate in Perthshire.

Ally Macaskill, the John Muir Trust’s Wild Land Ranger for Schiehallion and Glen Nevis, has been using innovative technology this year to help with wildlife monitoring on the John Muir Trust’s East Schiehallion estate.

Ally’s German Shorthaired Pointers, Max and Gus, have been wearing GPS locator collars which relay their precise movements and location back to a handset which he carries with him on the hill.

The slopes of Schiehallion provide breeding sites for many birds, including hen harriers, merlins and ptarmigan, as well as red and black grouse.

Ally uses his dogs to monitor the grouse by sniffing them out and standing still (on point) for long enough for Ally to get up next to them.

Man and dog then gradually work alongside each other until the bird is flushed out of the heather, allowing Ally to identify the species.

“I’ve been very impressed with these GPS collars, which I saw used during trips to Scandanavia,” said Ally. “They indicate whether the dogs are on the move or on point. When they get on point the collars mean I can get there quickly, with more chance of seeing what the dogs have found.”

The new technology has proven particularly effective for the Trust’s annual monitoring of black grouse broods on Schiehallion.

Ally estimates there are around 25 male grouse using leks (display sites) on the periphery of the Trust’s property.

A UK Biodiversity Action Plan species, black grouse are one of the most rapidly declining birds in the UK. Numbers in Scotland have fallen sharply in the last two decades.

“As well as the mapping function on these GPS collars I can download their movements later onto a computer to work out if we’ve missed any large pockets of ground,” added Ally. “I know of a couple of other people using these devices in Scotland – they really are a boon for this type of work.”

The John Muir Trust is the UK’s leading wild land conservation charity. The Trust owns and safeguards eight iconic areas of wild land including parts of Ben Nevis, the Red Cuillin in Skye and Schiehallion.

Ally’s dogs can be seen on You Tube: www.youtube.com/user/JohnMuirTrustVideo