Worthy Farm has its attractions - obviously! But for a more laid-back experience, minus the travelling and the crowds, we had a great time in Scotlandwell.

As part of the Portmoak Festival, the woodland group and Woodland Trust Scotland were delighted to host a lovely open air concert in the community orchard in Kilmagad Wood. Ace musicians, Vicky Gray and Sean McLaughlin, from Scotlandwell, organised the gig which featured a fantastic line-up of a dozen singers and instrumentalists performing traditional Scottish tunes as well as songs by the likes of Neil Young and Eric Clapton.

The sun came out and there was no need for wellies, on Sunday June 9th. The audience brought folding chairs and picnic rugs and were surrounded by apple trees and native woodland for an afternoon of great music.

Generally, the loudest sound in Kilmagad Wood is bird song (once you're away from the road) and this year the bird theme dominated the Festival.

Across the road, in the village hall, there was an exhibition, by Portmoak Primary School, of beautiful pictures and craftwork inspired by the birds they’ve been learning about this year. It included photos and a write-up about the nest box project we did with them in February. Good news on that front: the first blue tits moved in a few weeks ago. 

Portmoak Community Woodland Group also contributed to the Festival by organising two guided bird song walks, led by Scott Paterson, of Kinross Ecology. 

Starting at breakfast time, we slowly walked round Portmoak Moss with Scott helping us to identify which birds were singing and calling and sharing his wealth of knowledge about what the different species might be communicating to each other, whether it was about territory, mating or something to be alarmed about in the undergrowth. 

Meadow pipits were very active in the centre of the peat bog, great spotted woodpeckers drummed on the trees and song thrushes sang brilliantly and inventively. They seem to be having a good year.

Not so good are the numbers of swifts. They used to be such a common sight on summer evenings in Scotlandwell and Kinnesswood. But there maybe things we can do to help and, to that end, there’s a guided walk, all about swifts, starting at Kinnesswood bus stop at 8.30pm on Sunday 30th June. This has come about as a result of our involvement with the Tayside Biodiversity Project. It'll be led by Danièle Muir of Perthshire Wildlife. It’s free and open to everyone.