TV presenter Chris Packham visited Tweeddale this week to carry out a healthcheck on local wildlife.

The naturalist, who is best known for presenting BBC’s Springwatch, headed to the Glenlude estate near Traquair as part of his ‘bioblitz’ tour.

The aim of the 10-day campaign is to investigate which species are under threat and to raise money for local projects working on the conservation and restoration of habitats.

Along with Chris and his specialist team, dozens of John Muir Trust volunteers, who manage the site, identified 388 species during an intensive survey of the 150-hectare site.

Those involved included scientific experts on moths, bats, lichens, dragonflies, sedge grasses, birds and other species.

The presenter said: “The tour is about measuring the health of our landscapes.

“It is time conservationists came together, unified to think about the bigger picture. We’re not going to agree on everything, but if we agree on 60 or 70 per cent that’s enough. There are things we can do today that will have an impact tomorrow.”

Representatives from Glasgow-based drug and alcohol recovery charity Phoenix Futures Scotland also took part in the survey. The charity has a six-year connection with Glenlude, where participants in its Recovery Through Nature programme have planted and nurtured a new native woodland.

Karen Purvis, the John Muir Trust’s local land manager, said: “We were delighted to welcome Chris and his team to Glenlude and to assist with this fantastic project to get a better understanding of the state of nature across the UK.

“We do our own regular monitoring work focusing on specific species but we’ve found this comprehensive snapshot incredibly helpful – and we’ve already discovered several new species we were unaware existed here.

“It also gives us a great benchmark to measure progress on the estate, where we have a long-term project to bring back native woodland and its associated wildlife.”