Written by Jay Thomson, Field Assistant
I’m Jay Thomson, a Field Assistant working across both the GWCT Uplands Research Team and the Scottish Advisory Service. I am based out of the Auchnerran office in Aberdeenshire and work on moorlands across the North Grampians. Having undertook a student placement year with the GWCT Uplands Research team in 2023, based out of the Eggleston office in County Durham, I have recently rejoined the Trust since graduating in 2025.
Since joining in March I have hit the ground running with an intense programme of fieldwork on the first year of our expanded Maternal Grouse project that was launched in Scotland this year, spending many hours on the moors already.
The first few weeks consisted of assisting with night-time catching of red grouse hens, so that we could fit VHF collars and GPS tags, as well as record their biometric data to assess their overall health. This required the use of high-powered headlamps and nets, but most importantly, required the cooperation of the gamekeepers on the estates hosting the project. Without their fantastic assistance it would not have been possible to achieve what we have achieved so far. I have also taken part in much vegetation sampling and surveying as part of this project to give us an idea of the nutritional value of the heather on our study sites as well as an indication of the cottongrass flowerhead production, both of which are vital food-sources for Red Grouse and thus are a factor in their breeding success.
As my role is a hybrid split between both the Research team and the Advisory team, I will also be involved in a myriad of Advisory-adjacent work as my role progresses with the Trust. I am eager to begin this work, which involves liaising with land management clients directly to provide high quality and bespoke advice to promote best-practice land management methods to ensure tangible conservation benefits.
It has been a really hectic month for me, having moved from my home in the North Pennines to Aberdeenshire and starting this job during such a busy period, but I have really enjoyed being able to hit the ground running and assist the team effectively from the get-go. Whilst I do truly miss working with such knowledgeable and professional team members such as Dr. Phil Warren, Holly Appleby and Leah Cloonan in Eggleston, I have also thoroughly enjoyed meeting and working alongside my new team members. It has been a joy to work in such beautiful and rugged mountainous landscapes, and I look forward to progressing in this role and watching how the projects I am involved in develop and inform land management in Scotland.