Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Small Birds

Small birds - 15th January 2007

Many small birds in the Highlands are now in trouble as their numbers fall and these include skylark, tree sparrow, linnet, yellowhammer, corn bunting and reed bunting. In contrast there is the other side of the coin with some birds increasing in numbers such as the chaffinch, blackcap and siskin. Although all these birds rely in some way on the farming system and land use it could well be that there are those that can adapt far better than others and this certainly seems to be the case with the very common chaffinch. It has been estimated that in the last 20 years the numbers of chaffinches in Britain has increased by as much as a quarter and now stands at a staggering 7,500,000 pairs! This birds success is not only due to the fact that it flourishes in a very wide range of countryside but also the fact that it has a very varied diet, taking seeds from a large number of plants whether in hedgerows, farmland, woodland, garden or scrub. It seems likely to carry on increasing, particularly in the Highlands, as more and more conifer plantations mature providing nesting sites as well as food. For much of the year seeds are taken but in the breeding season the chaffinches revert to small caterpillars and flies, mainly taken from the foliage of trees and shrubs, plus small beetles and other insects. The resident Highland chaffinches normally stay near their breeding grounds for the winter and they roost either singly or again in small groups. In contrast, the very large numbers of immigrants from Scandinavia form large groups, sometimes hundreds, utilising local bumper food sources such as open fields. Every winter such flocks appear in various parts of the Highlands and occasionally they have bramblings with them. Another contrast between the resident and immigrant flocks is that with the former the sex ratios are roughly the same. whereas with the large flocks there are far more females as many of the males, for some reason, stay in Scandinavia. The resident birds will frequent gardens both during the winter and the breeding season and will join other birds at the peanuts such a siskins, greenfinches and house sparrows. However, unlike these other birds they can spend almost as much time on the ground waiting for titbits to drop from the feeders and this initiative is also part of their success story. We tend to overlook the colourful plumage of the male chaffinch perhaps because they are so common, although the pinky red face and breast, steel blue crown and nape makes it one of the most attractive birds in the garden and wider countryside. Its characteristic call note "prink" is heard all the year round which is why its local name in the Highlands is "prink prink". The song in the spring and summer is a lovely scale of notes ending in a flourish and some people mistake it for the song of the willow warbler, although in the spring this might be wishful thinking as someone wants to hear the first migrant of the year! Considering the chaffinch has had such a long association with man, it seems to have no folk-lore attached to it which might mean that we know it so well it has never acquired any significant supernatural or superstitious meaning. In contrast, it has more local names than most birds and there are two collective names for the flocks as it is either "charm" or "chirm". As for seeing chaffinches, it must be one of the most abundant and widespread birds that can be found almost anywhere and, like the robin, the resident birds can be so confiding they will sometimes eat out of your hand.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Wolves

Wolves - 8th January 2007

Re-introductions of birds such as the red kite and sea eagle or animals such as the red squirrel and beaver are very expensive, time consuming and tend to overshadow the previous planning and guidelines that must take place. There must be an even stricter control over deliberate introductions which means moving an animal or bird to an area where it has not been established before. A classic case in the Highlands are the few hedgehogs introduced to the Uists in the Western Isles to control slugs in a garden. The hedgehogs multiplied so much that they have been devastating the important ground nesting waders. The control of them in the last few years has cost tens of thousands of pounds. Sika deer, introduced for sport and show in the Highlands, have also had a devastating and more widespread affect because their hybridisation with red deer is threatening the purity of all the mainland red deer. As far as re-introductions are concerned, one of the criteria is to look at why the animal or bird became extinct and in many cases, such as the sea eagle and red kite, the major reason was persecution. Drastic changes in the type of countryside a bird or animal needs, such as the large scale felling of the old Caledonian Pine Forest, can also have a devastating effect on wildlife. These reasons have to be looked at and a decision made as to whether these threats have changed. If not, there would be very little point in bringing back the bird or animal because they would die out again. Another criteria, and one that is not often realised, is the ability to eradicate the animal or bird if it causes too much damage to the countryside or other wildlife. It was interesting to see a recent display for the Wolf Society of Great Britain in the Inverness Museum and the idea for making re-introduced wolves compatible with livestock. One suggestion was the use of guard dogs - there is a breed that can be specially trained for this purpose. Leaving carcases around should be avoided, although there was also the idea that such carcases could be treated so as to make them unpalatable and the wolves would know not to tackle them. A change in animal husbandry practices was also proposed so that stock was not left alone for long periods. Electric fencing was not ruled out. Because of the size of the area needed, it would seem that somewhere in the Highlands would be appropriate. A few years ago the Isle of Rum was seriously, if unofficially, considered but experts pointed out that the island, even at over 100 square kilometres, was too small for a pack of wolves. Presumably on Rum the original thought was that, in the absence of sheep, the wolves would keep the numbers of red deer down, presumably not taking into account the tribe of wild goats on the island that number over 200.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Butterbur

Butterbur - 30th Dec 06

A few plants in the Highlands are now in flower and around four weeks earlier than usual. The silver male buds on willows are out and showing well against otherwise dark backgrounds. Normally at this time of the year the only gorse in flower is along the coasts where the weather is milder but now there are clumps of yellow splashes of colour from the flowers well inland along roadside verges, open tracts of moorland and the margins of woodland. That mysterious looking plant butterbur is also just showing above ground, again a few weeks early, but there is also another surprise with this plant this year. Normally the buds come up and then eventually flower and only then do the leaves form but at the end of December there were many leaves to be seen mostly up to seven inches across. Close to butterbur looks almost alien which is not surprising as, like snowberry and rhododendron, they have been introduced into the Highlands. Creamy butterbur, sometimes called white butterbur, was originally introduced from Central Europe to give a splash of colour in early spring. In the Highlands, the plants tend to occur in fairly tight colonies with few stragglers. This is because it spreads mainly by root fragments in disturbed ground which is why it often grows on roadside verges. In some parts of Scotland it is classed as a troublesome weed, however, the areas covered by the plants in the North are not enough to warrant problems of competition with native wild flowers. The Gaelic name for the plant is Gallan Ban which means "white branch" and there are a number of colonies around Inverness. Perhaps the most impressive is on the roadside verges and under adjoining woodland on the west side of Udale Bay on the Black Isle, north of Inverness. Most of the colonies are stable but the roadside site at Dores on the south side of Loch Ness has increased in recent years, with new areas colonised and others extended particularly up the side of a narrow burn that tumbles down through the steep slope of the woodland. In contrast the native common butterbur is more abundant on the West Coast and in the Western Isles. It is much more colourful than the creamy butterbur and the green leaves contrast with the liver coloured flowers and stems. The leaves also form later than the flowers and they are huge by any standards with many growing to over three feet across. The leaves are unusual in that the underside has a dense covering of hairs and so much so they feel like felt. These huge leaves were at one time used for wrapping butter and this is where the plant's name originated. There is a curious distribution pattern of the male and female plants of butterbur - the male is found throughout Britain whereas the females is only found in the English Midlands.. However, just occasionally single female flowers can be found on an otherwise male plant and it is presumed that, from these, sufficient seed is produced to form new colonies.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Pigeons

Pigeons - 24th December 06


In the 1800s, Charles St. John used to visit the "doo" caves along the coast from Munlochy to Eathie, north east of Inverness. His purpose was to shoot what the name suggests, rock doves, and in those days they were all pure. Even in the 1970s pure rock doves could be seen feeding on the old stooks that were very much part of the crofting scene in the Highlands before the agricultural changes took place. Slowly but surely, however, the rock doves' pure strain was diluted by either feral pigeons or racing pigeons that failed to return to their lofts, although it may be a combination of both sources. Pure rock doves hung on in isolated locations such as the west coast and places like the Smoo Cave, near Durness. Increasingly pigeons with feral characteristics have been seen with them and it is now uncertain whether there are still any pure bred rock doves left in the Highlands. As for the Western Isles there may be still room for optimism as out there feral pigeons are few and far between and there may just be a few pure rocks doves left. The small field system of the crofts seem to favour them but how long this system will remain is open to conjecture. About fifteen years ago, for example, a small flock of seven doves was flying around the remote island of North Rona north east of Cape Wrath and two of them had the characteristic colouring of feral pigeons. Most books now lump the rock dove and feral pigeon together and put in the caveat that pure rock doves may occur in the Western and Northern Isles. It seems quite remarkable that the very many varieties of domestic pigeons and the feral pigeons of city and town streets have descended from rock doves. However, once the interb reeding started, the new hybrids took advantage of two aspects of the breeding seasons of each. To start with, the rock doves have a breeding season between March and September during which time they can have two or three broods. On the other hand, the feral pigeons that often live in city centres and industrial buildings have adapted to the better climate and constant supply of food and at least some of them breed all the year round, and in such cases they can have five or six broods. With the feral young breeding at six to seven months old, it is easy to see how the large numbers build up. It is probably the shortage of nesting sites that make some of the feral pigeons move into the less favourable countryside where they meet up with the rock doves that know the local sources of food - and the inevitable happens. As for shooting, the pure rock doves are protected at all times whereas the feral pigeon is one of the 13 birds on the list that can be shot by any authorised person. The snag is how do you tell when a rock dove is pure and not a hybrid? Some of the pigeons seen on the streets of Inverness, for example, look like pure rock doves, even to the extent of having the characteristic white rump patch of feathers when they fly off. It will be a great pity if the pure rock dove was to disappear from Scotland, but there does not seem to be very much that conservationists can do about the situation. Inverness supports hundreds of feral pigeons which breed on buildings and under bridges and scavenge the streets, even well into the shopping arcades. Success indeed.