Ray Collier Country Diary - Deer Stalking

26th November - Deer Stalking

Deer stalking in the Highlands is part of the way of life on many estates and it is a complex system from estimating deer numbers to the venison trade. There have been very many changes in the equipment used such as high powered rifles with telescopic sights, all terrain vehicles that make carcase extraction easier and superb waterproof clothing. Deer larders where the carcases are processed now have so many hygiene regulations that they are very much state of the art. Some of the old Highlands traditions are still there and such is the case with the Highland deer pony. The Highland pony breed is now much sought after and the increasing popularity has led to a sharp increase in prices. This is particularly the case for some of the older studs such as the one on the Isle of Rum where the ponies have been used for extracting deer carcasses off the hill. To use ponies in this way means back up equipment with knowledgeable staff to handle the ponies. On Rum there are three types of saddles, one for riding , a special saddle for tying the deer carcasses onto and a combination saddle. The latter is extremely uncommon and it can be used both for riding and for carcase extraction.
The renewed interest in the breed outwith the stalking scene is both for riding and for showing. Highland ponies are shown at most of the Country Fairs throughout Scotland. Riding schools often use Highland ponies as they are so sure footed and their increasing popularity means their prices have also risen markedly. An average pony will now cost between £2-3,000 whilst a show pony could fetch twice that. Although synthetic saddles and bridles are cheap, if you want a good leather saddle it can cost a few hundred pounds. Blacksmiths costs have also gone up so if you want to ride out on your own pony these days it can be expensive. The Highland Pony Society is very active and its Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, has one of the biggest working studs on Highland ponies and during the season over twenty ponies are regularly on the hill, carrying grouse, deer, people and lunch apart from the trekking and driving side at Balmoral Castle.
The origin of the Highland pony is open to debate with some people even suggesting that they lived in Scotland before the ice age. Whatever the source, the breed has been influenced by horses from invading armies. In the past there were two types, the small and lighter ponies of the Western Isles and the larger and mainland bred ponies. The latter were much favoured by the famous Lovat Scouts for military purposes. One well known story about the origin of Highland ponies was that the famous Rum stud was influenced by ponies thrown overboard by the Spanish Armada in 1588 as they tried to escape the British fleet. Not only were the ponies thrown overboard off the east coast but the majority were mules. Whatever the source the ponies, over many centuries have, had to adapt to the variable and often severe weather and the environment. Their winter coat consists of a layer of strong badger like hair over a soft, dense undercoat which enables this breed of pony to live out in all weathers. It was once an important work horse on the Scottish mainland and islands. The first Statistical Account of Scotland 1791 - 1799 includes details of horses from almost every parish and the number of ponies is incredible, such was their importance in the agricultural scene.

Ray Collier Country Diary - Gannets

Gannets - 19th November 2007

The seabird colonies of the Highlands and Islands are internationally renowned and the cliff terraces in the summer hold so many birds the noise is almost deafening. Some cliff faces have kittiwakes, razorbills, guillemots and fulmars milling together and it seems a wonder how each birds finds its own nest, egg or chick. Some colonies are on mainland cliffs such as the north coast of Caithness whilst the nearest colonies to Inverness are on the North Sutor near Cromarty. The very large numbers of seabirds are on islands, some remote such as the archipelago of St. Kilda where the numbers of breeding pairs of seabirds, including gannets and puffins, are one of the wildlife spectacles of Europe and beyond. In contrast to these summer highlights, with the accompanying noise and smell, the cliffs are now still and apart from fulmars they are deserted for the winter months. For weeks now the birds have left the ledges and even the inshore waters and they face the long winter at sea.
Gannets are one of the largest seabirds with an impressive two metre wingspan and whilst it is possible to see one or two off the east coast at this time of the year from vantage points such as Tarbetness and Chanonry Point most of the adults and young are far away. Their story has unfolded over the years mainly from ringing birds and the first journey of the young birds seems extraordinary. What induces the young bird to leave the nest is hunger as the adults deliberately leave it without food for around ten days. The first part of the journey is to flutter down from their nest and land on the sea near the colony, on their own, with their parents not with them. The first problem is that they are too heavy to fly and most start their migration by simply swimming south. Once light enough most of them fly south almost immediately to wintering grounds south of the Bay of Biscay. Many young travel further south to Morocco and some cross the Equator in the Gulf of Guinea. When these young birds return to the breeding colony is variable but the urge to return always seems to be there. Some birds go back to the colony after a couple of years and may visit the colony until they breed at around four years old. If the young birds land in the colony they join together in groups called "clubs".
Meanwhile the adults take the same journey each winter although as the birds get older they do not travel so far. Gannets live for an average of 16 years with the oldest known age being 37 years. The photograph was taken of an adult gannet migrating south past the Cromarty Sutors. Despite their size there are all sorts of hazards both during the breeding season and over the winter. Many are still caught for food in the Mediterranean and Africa either by shooting or using baited lines. Entanglement in fishing nets or cords and oil pollution take their toll and declining fish stocks are of serious concern. The gannet has been the subject of a fierce debate in recent years and one associated with a Scottish breeding colony. A licence is issued each year for 2,000 young gannets to be killed on Sula Sgeir National Nature Reserve. Supporters of the harvest says that it is part of a legacy that has existed for over four centuries and makes no difference to the numbers of gannets. Conservationists say that the licence should not be granted in this day and age.

Ray Collier Country Diary - Eider Duck

Eider Duck - 12th November 2007

You only have to look at birds in the average garden in and around Inverness to see the great variation in the feather colouring that occur. Some are brightly coloured such as greenfinches, chaffinches and great spotted woodpeckers. Others such as the dunnock, blackbird and wren are comparatively drab. The general plumage feathers are some of the most complex structures in wildlife but have been extensively studied and some of the secrets have been revealed. Feathers get their wide range of colours from three types of pigments one of which produces black to light tan and greys, the second gives reds, oranges and yellow and the third give mostly brown colours but also reds and green. One of the most famous, longest and colourful feathers is from the tail coverts of a peacock that has an image of an "eye" at the end of a five feet long feather.
The outer feathers are called contour feathers and are distributed over the whole body and some are modified into wing feathers and tail feathers. These are often brightly coloured for a variety of reasons and they are fairly rigid and joined by minute hooks interlocking the feathers together. Under these are the down feathers that have no hooks and are fluffy which allows them to trap a lot of air providing excellent thermal insulation. Some birds have a supply of powder down feathers which grow continuously with small particles breaking off to form the powder. A good example can be found on the heron that frequents the Beauly Firth. The main food of herons is fish that produces slime that can ruin feathers and so these birds use a great deal of powder down to keep their feathers in good shape. Other birds also have specialised feathers such as those of tawny owls. The ends of their flight feathers do not have minute hooks to hold them together so the edges of softer and make little noise leading to silent flight which helps to catch its prey. Feathers provide insulation so they must be in good condition which is brought about by preening and bathing. This is why it is so important to provide water for birds in the garden in winter. Feathers also give the power of flight whether in the slow flaps of a lapwing or the fast stoop of a peregrine. The varying colours allow not only threat and mating displays but also camouflage.
Feathers have been widely used by man for a number of reasons such as functional, cultural and religious. Perhaps the most widespread use has been taking advantage of them being soft and excellent at trapping heat. This has meant duvets and pillows being filled with feathers and whilst they have been used from a variety of birds the most efficient, and expensive, has been by using eider down. When eiders nest they lay their eggs on a lining of their breast down feathers. Most of this down comes from Iceland where the birds are encouraged to nest in colonies where the farmers feed them and protect them from predators such as the arctic fox. Once the ducklings hatch and leave the nest then the nest lining, the down, is collected. In contrast it was feathers that led to the formation of the RSPB that now has well over one million members. In 1889 there was a protest group company that was against the use of great crested grebe skins and feathers being used as hand muffs and feathers such as egret feathers being used for fashion. This led to the charity RSPB being formed.

Ray Collier Country Diary - Beech trees

Mature beech trees are some of the tallest and broadest trees in the countryside and they have a massive many-branched dome that can grow to 36 metres. Younger trees are slimmer and more conical in outline. The leaves are alternate and shiny green on both surfaces so all get some light but very little filters between them. In the same way the leaves catch most of the rain which then evaporates without reaching the ground. The lack of light and rain on the floor beneath the trees means that very few plants can flourish. In the autumn the leaves turn yellow at first, then orange or red-brown, making it one of the most spectacular trees. The nuts of the tree, often called "mast" have a four sided outer husk that contains two brown nutlets. Although the beech is widespread in the Highlands, apart from a few central areas, it is not native but has been widely planted as a decorative tree, as hedging or for stock to feed on the mast. The problem with beech is that it is notorious for its shallow roots and the tree rarely lives for more than 200 years. Even young, seemingly solid trees, can be blown over in gales. The most famous planting must be the great beech hedge at Meiklover in Perthshire, as it is a quarter of a mile long and consists of 600 trees nearly 30 metres high. It is said to be from seedlings planted hurriedly when the estate workers went off to war in 1746. The amount of beech mast varies from year to year and whilst the fallen nuts are reputed to be poisonous to horses they are a favourite food of cattle and pigs. The mast also attracts wild animals such as deer, wood mice, voles and red squirrels. In the past, when red squirrels were more widespread and abundant in the Highlands, they caused damage to beech trees by gnawing at the sapwood below the bark. Birds such as wood pigeons, pheasants and jays freely attack the nuts and the winter feeding habits of one of the finches, the brambling, seems to be tied in with the amount of mast each year. In a good year, very large numbers of bramblings, that have bred in the huge forests of Scandinavia, come to the Highlands for the winter. If the mast is abundant the birds may spend most of the winter under beech trees but in a poor year they frequent fields, often with chaffinches. It is in poor mast years, or if it runs low, that these delightful migrants will come to feeding stations in gardens. Their white rumps readily separate them from the look-alike chaffinches. It is not only wildlife that benefits from beech trees. Beech nut coffee was formerly extensively made and was simple to prepare, although gathering the nuts is time consuming. The nuts are roasted in a hot dry oven until dry and brittle, then ground in an electric coffee grinder before being prepared as coffee. The timber is close grained, hard and smooth and has been used for furniture, tool handles and sports equipment. It is very durable under water and has been used as piles under buildings. It burns well and has been used in Scotland to smoke herrings and the charcoal made from beech was well suited for the manufacture of gunpowder. The future of the tree in the Highlands seems assured as it is still planted as a decorative tree, as a hedge and sometimes in new woodlands.

Ray Collier Country Diary - Collared Doves

Collared Doves - 29th October 2007


The local names of birds have evolved over a long period, centuries in fact, and it is only comparatively recently that they have been standardised to suit the needs of modern bird guides. In the old days each species of bird was given different names for a variety of reasons with some based on folk lore and superstition. Others were based on the behaviour of the bird or the call, whilst others were named after people or why they were useful for food or other uses. In the Highlands, for example, communities were often isolated because of lack of transport so local names developed for different areas and even a bird in Sutherland was called something different in Caithness and different around Inverness.
There was variation for other reasons as there were Scots names and Gaelic names and it is commonplace for a bird to have several Scots names and two or three Gaelic names. Then with the coming of the modern field guides to identification there came the general British names which have lasted for almost one hundred years. In the last five years however some of these so called standard names have changed yet again to conform with world wide standard names and even common birds have names such as European greenfinch, Eurasian siskin and common blackbird. The fact that there was already a world wide standard name for every bird, their unique Latin name, seems to have been conveniently overlooked.
The lapwing, a common breeding and wintering bird around Inverness is a good example. This bird has around thirty Scots names such as shoucah for Caithness, wallopieweet for Aberdeen and you still get people around Inverness calling them peesieweeps. Most of these Scots names comes from the haunting call of the lapwing and this is also reflected in one of its three Gaelic name. Feadag-riasgach that means "whistler of the moor or fen". Another common bird, indeed one of the commonest ducks in the Highlands, is the mallard and it was so common in the past that it was simply referred to as the common duck or wild duck. This bird has nine Scots names including moss duck and mire duck which describes where it was found. It has two Gaelic names one of which is Lach riabhach which means, simply, wild duck. The drake mallard also has a local name, generally used by wildfowlers in the Highlands, and this is curly tail after the curly end tail feathers that are very conspicuous. Not all birds have a series of names and one is the recent coloniser, the collared dove. Spreading across Europe this bird did not colonise Britain until 1952 and it reached the Outer Hebrides in 1960. So it has not been around long enough to get any local or Scots names. Ironically, however, it does have a Gaelic name, "Calman a chrios" which means " A dove with the wages of a servant".
During the last few years there were not many sources for local names, Scots names or Gaelic names. One of the first was "All the Birds of the Air" by Francesca Greenock published in 1979 and revised in 1997. However as this was based on British birds there were only a scattering of Scots names and no Gaelic names. This lack of information was overcome by a book "Scottish Birds - Culture and Tradition" by Robin Hull published in 2001. This includes extensive lists of Scots names and Gaelic names and is a fund of information. Another source and of great importance is a book "Gaelic names of Plants, Fungi & Animals" by Ellen I. Garvie from the Gaelic College on Skye published in 1999. In the latter there are Gaelic names for ferns, conifers, mosses, seaweeds, birds, amphibians, fish etc. and this will probably prove to be the standard work of reference on this subject for years to come.