Craigdilly
Condition (NatureScot)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Scrub | Favourable | — | 2009-12-18 |
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Habitats
Geology & landscape
Landscape processes: Coastal
Description
CRAIGDILLY Craigdilly Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is situated on a north-west facing steep slope adjacent to Megget Reservoir near the Yarrow Valley. The site is notified for its well structured sub-montane scrub, one of the few remaining fragments of this habitat type in the entire Scottish Borders. The sub-montane scrub occurs here on an open hillside as opposed to cliff and cleuch woodlands. Its range of community types from dry to flushed and strongly acid to mildly basic upland grass-heath and woodland hold a variety of flowering plants with species diversity well above that of other scrub habitats at similar altitude in the area. In total more than 140 species occur. The relic woodland is dominated by eared willow Salix aurita and by grey willow Salix cinerea scrub with rowan Sorbus aucuparia, birch Betula spp with occasional hawthorn Crataegus monogyna, blackthorn Prunus spinosa and hazel Corylus avellana. Outside the woodland occasional birch, rowan and willow trees are regenerating in the mixed heather and blaeberry Vaccinium myrtillus heath.
Species mentioned
Show the 7 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status| English name search for this in other sites |
Latin name search with Google |
IUCN / Red List | Type | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hawthorn | Crataegus monogyna | LC | shrub | rosaceae |
| blackthorn | Prunus spinosa | LC | shrub | rosaceae |
| billberry | Vaccinium myrtillus | LC | shrub | ericaceae |
| hazel | Corylus avellana | LC | tree | corylaceae |
| rowan | Sorbus aucuparia | LC | tree | rosaceae |
| eared willow | Salix aurita | LC | tree shrub | salicaceae |
| grey willow | Salix cinerea | LC | tree shrub | salicaceae |
Insects to look out for
These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.
| Species | Status | Via host-plant |
|---|---|---|
| Speckled footman Coscinia cribraria |
Critically Endangered | Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Figure of eight Diloba caeruleocephala |
Endangered | Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Prunus spp. |
| The lappet Gastropacha quercifolia |
Endangered | Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Prunus spp., Salix spp. |
| Scarce vapourer Orgyia recens |
Endangered | Corylus avellana, Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Salix spp. |
| Black hairstreak Satyrium pruni |
Endangered | Prunus spinosa |
| Mouse moth Amphipyra tragopoginis |
Vulnerable | Crataegus spp. |
| The sprawler Asteroscopus sphinx |
Vulnerable | Corylus avellana, Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Prunus spp., Salix spp. |
| Broom moth Ceramica pisi |
Vulnerable | Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Scarce chocolate-tip Clostera anachoreta |
Vulnerable | Salix cinerea, Salix spp. |
| Mottled umber Erannis defoliaria |
Vulnerable | Corylus avellana, Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Salix spp., Sorbus aucuparia, Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Satyr pug Eupithecia satyrata |
Vulnerable | Salix spp. |
| The lackey Malacosoma neustria |
Vulnerable | Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Prunus spp., Salix spp. |
| Pale brindled Phigalia pilosaria |
Vulnerable | Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa |
| Brown hairstreak Thecla betulae |
Vulnerable | Prunus spinosa |
| Early moth Theria primaria |
Vulnerable | Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Pale eggar Trichiura crataegi |
Vulnerable | Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Salix spp., Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Flounced chestnut Agrochola helvola |
Near Threatened | Crataegus monogyna, Salix spp., Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Beaded chestnut Agrochola lychnidis |
Near Threatened | Crataegus monogyna, Salix spp., Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Grey chi Antitype chi |
Near Threatened | Crataegus monogyna |
| Purple emperor Apatura iris |
Near Threatened | Salix cinerea |
| Garden tiger Arctia caja |
Near Threatened | Prunus spinosa, Salix aurita, Salix cinerea, Sorbus aucuparia |
| Minor shoulder-knot Brachylomia viminalis |
Near Threatened | Salix aurita, Salix cinerea |
| The sallow Cirrhia icteritia |
Near Threatened | Salix spp. |
| Rosy marsh moth Coenophila subrosea |
Near Threatened | Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Dingy mocha Cyclophora pendularia |
Near Threatened | Salix aurita, Salix cinerea |
| Large thorn Ennomos autumnaria |
Near Threatened | Corylus avellana, Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Prunus spp., Salix spp. |
| The Silurian Eriopygodes imbecilla |
Near Threatened | Vaccinium myrtillus |
| Grey pug Eupithecia subfuscata |
Near Threatened | Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Salix spp. |
| Double dart Graphiphora augur |
Near Threatened | Crataegus spp., Prunus spinosa, Salix spp. |
| Scotch burnet Zygaena exulans |
Near Threatened | Vaccinium myrtillus |
Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.
Plant communities
W21 — Hedgerow scrub, Mixed scrub
Crataegus monogyna-Hedera helix scrub
Matches 4 species from the description above: Corylus avellana, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Salix cinerea
Show 81 indicator speciesHedera helix, Salix cinerea, Acer pseudoplatanus, Ilex aquifolium, Betula pendula, Corylus avellana, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus robur, Fraxinus excelsior, Malus sylvestris, Sorbus aria, Taxus baccata, Ulmus glabra, Ulmus procera, Sambucus nigra, Viburnum lantana, Euonymus europaeus, Cornus sanguinea, Juniperus communis, Ligustrum vulgare, Clematis vitalba, Rhamnus cathartica, Crataegus laevigata, Crataegus monogyna, Prunus spinosa, Juncus effusus, Plagiomnium undulatum, Brachythecium rutabulum, Kindbergia praelonga, Rhynchostegium confertum, Tamus communis, Heracleum sphondylium, Torilis japonica, Arum maculatum, Arctium minus, Cirsium arvense, Lonicera periclymenum, Moehringia trinervia, Silene dioica, Stellaria graminea, Stellaria holostea, Stellaria media agg., Calystegia sepium, Mercurialis perennis, Geranium robertianum, Iris foetidissima, Glechoma hederacea, Lamium purpureum, Origanum vulgare, Stachys sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Allium ursinum, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Circaea lutetiana, Rumex sanguineus, Anemone nemorosa, Ranunculus repens, Fragaria vesca, Geum urbanum, Potentilla sterilis, Poterium sanguisorba, Rosa arvensis, Rosa canina, Rubia peregrina, Rubus fruticosus agg., Galium aparine, Urtica dioica, Viola riviniana, Anisantha sterilis, Arrhenatherum elatius, Brachypodium pinnatum, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bromopsis erecta, Dactylis glomerata, Elytrigia repens, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis, Poa trivialis, Asplenium scolopendrium, Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris filix-mas
W20 — Montane scrub
Salix lapponum-Luzula sylvatica scrub
Matches 2 species from the description above: Salix cinerea, Vaccinium myrtillus
Show 107 indicator speciesSalix arbuscula, Salix cinerea, Salix lapponum, Salix myrsinites, Salix phylicifolia, Salix reticulata, Empetrum nigrum, Calluna vulgaris, Salix lanata, Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinium uliginosum, Carex atrata, Carex bigelowii, Carex binervis, Carex flacca, Luzula multiflora, Luzula sylvatica, Huperzia selago, Selaginella selaginoides, Aulacomnium palustre, Mnium hornum, Philonotis fontana, Plagiomnium undulatum, Rhizomnium punctatum, Dicranum bonjeanii, Dicranum majus, Dicranum scoparium, Fissidens adianthoides, Racomitrium lanuginosum, Calliergonell cuspidatum, Ctenidium molluscum, Hylocomium splendens, Hypnum callichroum, Hypnum cupressiforme, Palustriella commutatum, Plagiothecium denticulatum, Plagiothecium undulatum, Pleurozium schreberi, Ptilium crista-castrensis, Rhytidiadelphus loreus, Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus, Rhytidiadelphus triquetrus, Sanionia uncinata, Scorpidium revolvens, Thuidium tamariscinum, Atrichum undulatum, Polytrichastrum alpinum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Sphagnum fallax, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum palustre, Sphagnum russowii, Sphagnum squarrosum, Sphagnum subnitens, Sphagnum teres, Barbilophozia barbata, Chiloscyphus polyanthos, Diplophyllum albicans, Lophocolea bidentata, Plagiochila porelloides, Ptilidium ciliare, Scapania undulata, Cladonia squamosa, Peltigera canina, Angelica sylvestris, Caltha palustris, Hieraclium spp., Saussurea alpina, Solidago virgaurea, Campanula rotundifolia, Succisa pratensis, Valeriana officinalis, Rhodiola rosea, Vaccinium vitis-idaea, Thymus praecox, Epilobium anagallidifolium, Dactylorhiza viridis, Euphrasia officinalis, Rhinanthus minor, Oxalis acetosella, Oxyria digyna, Polygonum viviparum, Rumex acetosa, Anemone nemorosa, Ranunculus acris, Thalictrum alpinum, Alchemilla alpina, Alchemilla glabra, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum rivale, Galium boreale, Galium saxatile, Saxifraga aizoides, Saxifraga hypnoides, Saxifraga oppositifolia, Saxifraga stellaris, Viola riviniana, Agrostis canina, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Deschampsia cespitosa, Deschampsia flexuosa, Festuca ovina, Festuca rubra, Nardus stricta, Dryopteris dilatata, Phegopteris connectilis
W22 — Hedgerow scrub, Mixed scrub
Prunus spinosa-Rubus fruticosus scrub
Matches 2 species from the description above: Corylus avellana, Prunus spinosa
Show 49 indicator speciesHedera helix, Acer campestre, Corylus avellana, Ulex europaeus, Prunus spinosa, Plagiomnium undulatum, Brachythecium rutabulum, Eurhynchium striatum, Kindbergia praelonga, Thuidium tamariscinum, Atrichum undulatum, Lophocolea bidentata, Achillea millefolium, Cardamine flexuosa, Lonicera periclymenum, Moehringia trinervia, Silene dioica, Silene uniflora, Stellaria media agg., Mercurialis perennis, Geranium robertianum, Stachys sylvatica, Teucrium scorodonia, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, Oxalis acetosella, Digitalis purpurea, Plantago lanceolata, Veronica chamaedrys, Armeria maritima, Rumex acetosa, Filipendula ulmaria, Geum urbanum, Rosa canina, Rubus fruticosus agg., Rubus idaeus, Galium aparine, Urtica dioica, Viola riviniana, Agrostis capillaris, Brachypodium sylvaticum, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca rubra, Holcus lanatus, Holcus mollis, Poa trivialis, Asplenium scolopendrium, Pteridium aquilinum, Dryopteris borreri, Dryopteris filix-mas