by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 24, 2013 | Conservation
The Ayrshire Red Squirrel Group was established in 2002 with the aim of conserving red squirrels throughout Ayrshire. As part of this aim, the group has secured funds to deliver a red squirrel conservation project in the Carrick area of South Ayrshire. The programme...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 20, 2013 | Conservation, Invasives
Gordon spied this Giant Hogweed plant in an almost inaccessible location. I say ‘almost inaccessible’ because without climbing experience I think it would be impossible to deal with this solitary invader. But of course, neither Gordon nor I are equipped or...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 20, 2013 | Electrofishing, fishing
It has been well reported in the past years that the River Ayr salmon stocks aren’t what they should be so in order to assess the productivity in the good areas, we have been revisiting some established sites that haven’t been surveyed for some time and...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 19, 2013 | Conservation, General
After picking Emma up this afternoon from a sweltering day surveying for invasive weeds, I popped over to Irvine to have a look at work on the weir not far upstream from the estuary. The council have opened the gates on the weir to lower the water level behind the...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 12, 2013 | Conservation, General
Last night I received a call from the bailiffs informing me that they had just recovered a net stashed in undergrowth on the bank near Craigie Pool on the lower River Ayr. Bailiffs are active both day and night at present patrolling the length of the River Ayr. They...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 9, 2013 | Conservation, Electrofishing, fishing
Scorching hot weather only means one thing… we are out of the office! I took Helen to the Fenwick Water today to assess the impact of the pollution incident a couple of months ago. We fished two sites, one upstream of the pollution source and the other at the...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 4, 2013 | General, Invasives
Our next set of tenders for Himalayan Balsam control have now been verified and are available to download below along with their associated guidance document. Tenders should be submitted no later than 5pm on Friday 12th July 2013 to: Ayrshire Rivers Trust, Donald...
by Stuart Brabbs | Jul 3, 2013 | Conservation, General
The River Ayr Bailiffs just sent me photos of 2 large eels that have been hung from branches at Muirkirk on the upper river. Fishing for and killing eels is illegal and anyone caught doing so may be prosecuted. Eels caught accidentally must be carefully unhooked and...