Water Vole Trapping (Updated 23/09)

It has been around 10 weeks since we stocked Darley and Slaphouse Burns with water voles. Since then mink tracks appeared on a raft on the middle Slaphouse about 3 weeks ago and today on 2 rafts on a tributary of the Darley Burn. Despite our best efforts we failed to...

More Trout Photos

Further to Brian’s post, I thought I’d add some photos of trout caught on two small burns near the source of the River Ayr last week. The first two are from the same burn but different locations and they couldn’t be more different in appearance. The...

Loch Doon waterfalls

I was in the Loch Doon area today; and what a wild day it was. I always like to have a look at the Carrick Lane waterfall which is located just above Loch Doon. It is a scene as highlandesque as you will get in Ayrshire! The burns were big today and the Carrick Lane...

Moving on

It was with much regret that I had to inform Peter Kennedy, Chairman of ART, that I would be leaving the Trust at the end of the year to take a position as Biologist to the Spey Foundation. I have throroughly enjoyed my time in Ayrshire but when the opportunity of a...

Black Rock Waterfall improvements

After a few delays, work has finally commenced to improve fish passage at the Black Rocks Waterfall on the Kilmarnock Water. Work was supposed to start last year but was delayed due to planning hold-ups followed by bad weather. ART engaged IH Borland of Kilmarnock to...

Ponesk Fish Rescue (updated)

To enable Scottish Coal to extract substantial coal reserves from below the course of the Ponesk Burn in the upper River Ayr catchment, ART were contracted to rescue as many fish as possible from the burn before the water was diverted. On Tuesday and Wednesday this...