Ray Colliers Highland Country Diary - Great Spotted Woodpeckers

Great Spotted Woodpecker
27th May 2006

The great spotted woodpecker is similar to a blackbird in size and its mainly black and white plumage has given it the other name of pied woodpecker. It’s dirty white under parts contrast with the extensive area of crimson feathers under its short and very stiff tail. On its shoulders it has two large white patches with small white spots on the folded wings. The shoulder marks show as oval patches in the birds undulating flight. At close quarters the adult male can easily be identified as it has a crimson patch of feathers on the back of the head which is absent in the female. Juvenile birds have a red centre to their crown. The stiff tail is used to support the bird when on the side of a tree or in other situations such as at a garden feeder. Outside the breeding season great spotted woodpeckers are normally solitary and when danger threatens they will spiral up a tree trunk and often “freeze” on the side facing away from danger. The call note of the bird is a sharp and loud “kek kek” that can be heard at any time of the year and is often the only sign of the bird as they are fairly secretive. In late winter and early spring the so called “song” is made by drumming with its beak on a branch. The short bursts of drumming last around five seconds and accelerate before fading away at the end. Of all the European woodpeckers the great spotted take the highest proportion of vegetable food in its diet. A traditional food is the seeds of pine trees which they extract from the cones by wedging them in crevices in tree trunks and hammering out the kernels with their strong beaks. Peanuts look a little like the kernels and so the birds have very muck taken to peanut holders, particularly as more and more people are putting them out all year round. At the end of the breeding season the juvenile woodpeckers are brought into some gardens and it is amusing seeing them being taught how to cope with the wire mesh of feeders. One aspect of the birds behaviour is cause for concern as their liking for succulent small items of food from holes in trees has made some of them take a liking to young birds in nest boxes. If the woodpecker cannot reach the chicks through the normal entrance hole they will just enlarge it until they can get to the “food”.
Metal plates with holes can help but a really determined bird seems to know exactly where the chicks are in the nest box and simply hammers its way inside. Using tougher wood at least an inch thick will help. Attacks on sand martin colonies can be devastating as the woodpeckers have no problem in excavating the sand. Small colonies of starlings are also the target with the young taken and eaten when they are three quarters grown. Great spotted woodpeckers are well scattered throughout the Highlands although absent from large areas where there are few trees such as parts of the flow country of Caithness and Sutherland. As would be expected they are commonest in the extensive deciduous woodland either side of the Great Glen but there are even a few breeding records from the north coast. In many parts of the Highlands the easiest way to see these attractive woodpeckers is to simply put up a couple of peanut holders and they will visit them virtually at any time of the year even when the feeders are quite close to the house.

Ray Colliers Highland Country Notes - Purple Orchids

Purple Orchids
19th May 2006

There is more folk lore attached to early purple orchids than any of the other 20 or so different types of orchids found in the Highlands. The plant has a stout upright and normally tall stem which makes it stand out from the other vegetation as it flowers so early in the year. The leaves are very variable with some plants having broad and others narrow leaves but all of them are lance-shaped, broadest above the middle. They usually have numerous round purple black blotches on the upper surface but you can find some plants with no markings on their leaves. The flowers are out in the spring and they are colourful, large and showy in varying shades of purple although sometimes they are white. Each blossom has three inner and three outer petals and the upper five are oval and form a hood. The lower petal extends into a long lip with three lobes and is a landing place for insects which rub against the stamens. A conspicuous part of the blossom is the nectar-holding long spur that usually curves upwards and the nectar attracts bumble bees. An unusual character of the plant is its smell as most orchids in the Highlands such as the fragrant and butterfly orchids are renowned for having a pleasant fragrance whereas the early purple orchid is in marked contrast. They smell wonderful when they first open, like lily of the valley, but this is soon tinged with blackcurrant and when they go over they reek of tom cats, particularly in the evening! In the Eastern Highlands these orchids are found in a wide range of places such as the coastal cliffs at Munlochy Bay, a railway embankment near Evanton, on Strathpeffer golf course and on mountain ledges on Ben Wyvis. Perhaps the most delightful place to see them is in the woodlands such as along the sides of Loch Ness from Inverness to Fort William. There they often grow with other spring flowers such as bluebells, wood anemones and lesser celandines. Elsewhere in the Highlands they are well scattered although on the mainland most of the records for Caithness seem to be older ones. There are a few records from the Western and Northern Isles. What’s also unusual about this orchid are the marked fluctuations in numbers from year to year. In one year an area of woodland on the side of Loch Ness may be almost purple all over with so many spikes of the orchid. In the following year there may be only a dozen or so after a careful search. This is probably due to the fact that most of the plants die after flowering for the first time and only a small proportion survive flowering and may be found in the following year. With so much folk lore associated with this orchid local names are plentiful such as "ducks and drakes" and "lords and ladies" both from the male and female tubers. In Hamlet Shakespeare referred to them amongst the fantastic garlands draped over the body of Ophelia and called them dead men's fingers and long purples, the latter being a West country name. In the past this orchid has suffered in the Highlands because of woodland felling and subsequent planting with conifers. The old hazel coppice system, with changes in the overhead canopy, favoured this and other spring flowers but many areas of old coppice have long been neglected. Changes in grassland management and ploughing have also taken their toll but with a more enlightened policy to the landscape hopefully the plant's future will be assured.

Ray Colliers Highland Country Diary - Hides & Centres in the Highlands

HIDES AND CENTRES IN THE HIGHLANDS
17th May 2006

There are a large number of facilities scattered throughout the Highlands that are aimed at enabling people to see and appreciate the wildlife. Some of these are listed below under various headings but although the main interest is indicated other wildlife is often seen. There are so many nature trails in the Highlands, so these have not been included, but by contacting organisations such as the Forestry Commission, Scottish Wildlife Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and Scottish Natural Heritage at their local offices is the best way to get details of the trails.

HIDES – MAMMALS
Contact
Badger hide Speyside Allan Bantick
Grid Ref – confidential Tel: 01479 831768

Otter hide Kylerhea, Isle of Skye Forestry Commission G.R. NG 689 205 Tel: 01320 366322

Dolphin/Seals Centre North Kessock,
Inverness Tel: 01463 731866
June onwards
G.R. NH 650 482


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HIDES WITH LIVE VIDEOS – BIRDS

Herons Lochinver Assynt Centre
G.R NC 094 225 Tel: 01571 844 330

Hen Harrier Forsinard RSPB
G.R. NC 890 425 Tel: 01641 571225

Osprey/Capercaillie Loch Garten RSPB
G.R. NH 981 184 Tel: 01479 831 476

HIDES – BIRDS

Sea eagles Isle of Mull Tel 01688 302 038
GR – confidential

Slavonian grebes Loch Ruthven RSPB – open all year
Nr Inverness
G.R. NH 638 281

Udale Bay* Black Isle, Inverness RSPB – open all year G.R. NH 711 651

Nigg Bay* North side Cromarty RSPB – open all year
Firth. G.R. NH803 724

Loch Maree Divers Loch Maree Hotel
GR NG 915 703 Open 8 am to dusk
April – October

* Best time to visit one hour before and after high tide. Tide tables in local newspapers

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VISITOR CENTRES

There are a number of Visitor Centres in various parts of the Highlands and the organisations mentioned at the beginning will give details. The one mentioned below combines a Visitor Centre and Nature Trails and is unusual in being devoted to geology, un-manned and self guiding with inter-active displays. The scenery and wildlife in the area is outstanding.

Centre and Trail Knockan Crag Open all year round
North of Ullapool
G.R. NC 189 089

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BOAT TRIPS

There are very many boat trips around the coast covering the Highlands and Islands. These include trips to the Summer Isles off Ullapool, The Handa Island and even St. Kilda. Details can be obtained from local Tourist Information Offices. There are a few inland boat trips and the following of which is outstanding.

Loch Maree, Kinlochewe Wildlife and landing on Loch Maree Hotel
The famous Isle Maree Tel: 01445 760 288
G.R. NG 915 703

Ray Colliers Highland Country Diary - Herring Gulls

Herring Gulls
12th May 2006


Herring gulls are large and fierce looking birds with grey backs and white underparts. The wings are grey above and broad, which makes them look heavy in flight. The wing tips are black with white spots and the powerful looking beak is yellow with a red spot. In winter the white head and neck are heavily streaked with grey whilst the young birds are mottled brown. These very noisy birds have a wide variety of loud calls with wailing and laughing cries and short barks. At any time of the year they will throw their head back and make a piercing call that carries a long distance. The history of the bird is interesting as contrary to popular belief their numbers peaked in the 1970s and has steadily been in slow decline. The main reason why this has gone unnoticed is that the birds have been increasingly found inland. At one time there were no herring gulls inland and yet now they can be seen foraging virtually anywhere and breeding in a wide range of places from the shores of lochs to buildings. However as a background to this success in a change of breeding sites since the 1970s there have been heavy culls, mainly by poisoning with narcotic baits. Tens of thousands of the birds have been culled not only by poisoning but with other methods as the bird has, unlike most other sea birds, no protection under the law. The cull has been to stop them decimating other sea bird numbers such as terns. There have also been deaths from disease such as botulism and predation by fox and mink. Individuals may hunt singly but are very seldom far from each other and around the coasts of the Highlands and Islands there are large noisy colonies of these birds breeding and there are large communal roosts sometimes on inland lochs but mainly around the coast. The name "herring" gull is not very apt as although they will eat fish their diet is very varied. They will rob other birds of their food, take small live animals, forage for carrion on shorelines and roadsides, will plunge into water after fish and will take flying ants. Whilst many herring gulls follow trawlers for offal a few will sit on ferries to the Small Isles and will dive down if anything is thrown overboard. Relations with man, has been a problem for many years with at one time the biggest problem being the huge number on large rubbish tips. In recent years nesting on buildings with the mess involved and adult birds diving at people when the chicks are in the nest are obvious problems. Many people still take their eggs to eat although the taste is quite strong. In the minutes of some of the meetings of the Highland Squirrel Club that killed 102,900 red squirrels between 1903 - 1946 members were urged, as part of the war effort, to gather gulls eggs and take them to the nearest barracks so that they could be eaten by people. These days it is not so much as where to go to see herring gulls but where you can go without seeing them. They haunt car parks in supermarkets, they take ducklings from the River Ness in Inverness, they forage in the streets of towns and villages and will come into the smallest garden for bread. Some people like them and others loathe them yet no doubt many heard their calls as part of the introduction to "Desert Island Discs"! It will be interesting to see if the numbers continue to fall in the next decade or so.

Ray Colliers Highland Country Diary- Red Deer

4th May 2006
Red Deer

There are a number of birds and animals that can be taken as being the epitome of the Highlands such as golden eagle, red grouse and salmon with each having their own champions. The golden eagle is perhaps indicative of the wildness that is still present in some parts. The red grouse represents, probably, the highest sporting achievement and it is a sobering thought that without them moorland would have long gone in many areas. The success of the salmon has been marred in recent years by the threat from farmed salmon but to the angler it is still the "King of Fish". To many the top icon in the Highlands is the largest and most striking land mammal, namely red deer. Our own history has been closely entwined with the red deer since the ice caps left the Highlands and the deer once more spread over the landscape. Red deer stags are between three and four feet at the shoulder and the coat at this time of the year is fairly short and reddish, changing to dark brown in the winter. In adults the antlers often have eight to ten points, sometimes more, but the number of points has no bearing on the age. The antlers will have been cast in February or March and are now covered in velvet ready to harden off for the rut in the Autumn. Sometimes the only view you get of deer is when they are moving away so the rump pattern is a good means of identification. In red deer the rump is creamy coloured with a beige tail and showing no black as found in sika and fallow deer. The hinds are smaller with no antlers. Stags weigh up to 320 lbs and hinds up to 220 lbs. Normally only the calves have spots which creates a good camouflage although just occasionally adults are found with spots. White red deer are rare but do occur. Most of the Highlands and some of the islands have red deer and although they are generally considered as being native they have also been moved around a great deal either for sport or to increase their size. Apart from a few limestone areas such as at Inchnadamph north of Ullapool, the grazing is generally poor and this is reflected in the small size of red deer in the Highlands compared with the Continent. For this reason many stags have been brought in from deer parks to boost the size of the stags and their antlers. The Isle of Rum is a good case in point as the famous series of "heads" in Kinloch Castle are descendents from stags brought in from deer parks. There very are few predators of red deer although their calves can be taken by foxes. Severe winters take their toll especially with the enclosing of very large areas of hill ground for woodland planting. The current series of mild winters and low culling in some areas has led to a steady increase in the numbers of deer. This combined with the overgrazing by the deer. sheep and hares plus over burning has led to confrontations with conservationists and this is ongoing. One of the problems with the red deer numbers is the lack of financial incentive for estates to cull large numbers as the venison prices are so low. Venison has, quite wrongly, a bad reputation and the mistaken belief is that it needs very careful cooking. If treated in the right way after they are shot the meat can be as good as any beef. You can see red deer virtually anywhere in the Highlands but the best time to see them is at dawn and dusk when they are on lower ground looking for food.