Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Breeding Birds

17th March 2006
Breeding Birds

There are a number of lochs around Inverness that are interesting for their breeding birds such as Loch Flemington to the east and Loch Ruthven to the south. Other lochs can be rather poor in the summer months but come into their own in the autumn, winter and spring and one such site is Loch Ashie. This is a large, open, freshwater loch located south east of the Great Glen and covers around 400 acres. It is one and a half miles long and half a mile at its widest part. Most of the shore is stony and exposed with only small areas of aquatic plants. Where the shore is sheltered and in the small bays there are areas of bottle sedge and these attract the ducks in winter. The loch has been used as a Local Authority water storage reservoir for almost a century and has been the main supply of drinking water for Inverness. The loch lies about one mile east of Dores and on the side of the unclassified road between Essich and Ashie Moor.

There are two conifer plantations of Sitka spruce on the north east side and the south west side. The rest of the area is surrounded by open moorland on gently undulating land dominated by heather and cotton grass. Fishing takes place from the shore and by boat and brown trout, pike and arctic char are present. Access is at the south end where the loch runs very close to the road and this provide an excellent view of the loch although a telescope is useful. At one time Loch Ashie was the second best site for Slavonian grebes in Britain supporting a maximum of 18 breeding pairs. Between 1991 and 95 this was reduced to one pair. One of the reasons for the decline could be the fluctuating water levels that adversely affect the floating nests the grebes make. Disturbance by bank fishermen is another problem and the presence of the predatory pike adds to the problem as they take small water birds such as young grebes and divers. The importance of the loch for the grebes is in the Autumn when the birds leave their breeding sites and congregate to moult their flight feathers and change into winter plumage before going to the coast. For a short time they are flightless. Flocks of about 30 to 40 moulting adults are present during September but the numbers vary and in 2003 the maximum count was 23. The loch is again important for the grebes in the spring as they leave the coast and gather there before dispersing to their breeding sites including the nearby Loch Ruthven.

At this time of the year the main birds during the day are goldeneye and tufted duck and the male goldeneye will soon be displaying by throwing their heads backwards to attract the much duller females. Evening flight of duck coming into feed include mallard, wigeon and teal and geese occasionally use the loch for roosting. Short eared owls and hen harriers hunt the nearby moorland and there are still a small number of black grouse in the area.. Historic Scotland has an interest in the area as there are two burnt mounds and a trough, origin unknown, and two OLD whisky stills. The famous “Phantom Battle” of the area has been seen on several occasions and it consists of oriental temples and many cavalry and foot soldiers in regimental order. This is normally seen in a haze or mist in an area of peat bog on land to the south west of the loch.

Ray Collier Highland Country Diary- Toads

24th March 2007
Toads

At this time of the year if the weather is warm and there is rain, preferably a series of light showers, then toads are on the move throughout the Highlands including in the Inverness area. The weather conditions were just right last week for a short period but long enough for the toads to move and for most of us the only signs were, unfortunately, dead ones as road casualties. The reason for the road casualties is that most of the toads from a breeding colony will hibernate in the same area sometimes some distance from the water. It is warm weather with showers that will make them move in the spring, sometimes in large numbers.

This was well illustrated a few years ago near Beauly when during the winter some buildings were erected including some offices. What the builders did not know was that they built between a loch where there was a toad colony and their hibernation place. The result was chaos as when staff arrived there were toads in drains, in the car park and all round the buildings. The weather was ideal and they were still moving as the morning wore on and some even went into offices as they were so disorientated. A warning sign was erected in the car park which was alright for vehicles coming in but those going out had toads under cars they could not see. The only answer was to get buckets and put the toads in and carry them the hundred yards or so to the breeding loch. The people involved were advised to wear gloves as the skin of a toad can excrete a chemical if it is upset and this causes irritations to the skin. What it does show is the determination of those toads to get to the breeding site and mate. The photograph of two males was taken a few days later when the noise of the toads in the pond was very loud indeed.

Once the spawn has been laid the toads stay in the water for a while and then they disperse and carry on feeding away from the water eating a wide variety of food such as ants, caterpillars, slugs and insects. Then in the Autumn a reverse movement takes place as they all start to move towards their hibernating place in holes in the ground or peat or deep within litter. At one time in the Highlands it was thought that all toad colonies were large but recent surveys have indicated that there can be quite small colonies such as the one in a very small “fire pond” in woodland near Ardersier, Inverness. The size of the colony is reflected on the numbers on the move and therefore the numbers found dead on roads.

Whilst the secretion from the skin is a protection against a number of would be predators, recent studies in the Highlands has shown that otters are now decimating some colonies. Whether this is because the numbers of otters are increasing or whether they have suddenly realised that toads are good to eat is a matter of conjecture. Road casualties later in the year are lower than in the spring because in the autumn they seldom move all at once. In some parts, such as near Lochinver, people go out at night and help toads across the road and at that site many hundreds of toads are saved as well as smaller numbers of palmate newts and frogs.