This past weekend the Bog Squad was at Easter Drumclair bog up on the Slamannan Plateau.
Our small group of dedicated volunteers enthusiastically set about the tasks for the day ahead despite some heavy showers and dark looking skies. The day brightened up though as we went along and we were basking in some warm(ish!) November sun by lunchtime.
Our small group of dedicated volunteers enthusiastically set about the tasks for the day ahead despite some heavy showers and dark looking skies. The day brightened up though as we went along and we were basking in some warm(ish!) November sun by lunchtime.
During the day we managed to complete the peat depth survey across the entire bog discovering that it is up to 7 metres deep in places! That means there's a lot of carbon stored in this wee bog!
We also managed to clear the whole eastern half of the bog of small pine trees that had sprouted across the area. It was a fantastic effort by everyone considering that the area cleared is around 3 hectares in size!
We also managed to clear the whole eastern half of the bog of small pine trees that had sprouted across the area. It was a fantastic effort by everyone considering that the area cleared is around 3 hectares in size!
After all the wet weather we've had this autumn the bog was very boggy indeed..... In fact one poor volunteer ended up with rucksack full of water.......luckily he had retrieved his food from it before hand otherwise it would have been a very soggy lunch!
Whilst its getting a bit late in the year to be seeing butterflies there were still a few other signs of wildlife. We were regularly startled by snipe lurking in the ditches before flying off suddenly making their rasping alarm call and as we've seen on some other bogs this year there was a profusion of cranberries.
Huge thanks to all the volunteers that came along this week. Our next work party will be on Tuesday 9th Dec at Cander Moss where we'll be removing some birch scrub. Look forward to seeing some of you there!