Ray Collier Country Diary - Inverness

31st March - Inverness

Just in the same way as birds have adapted to living within the boundaries of the City of Inverness so have mammals although in general they are more cautious and often go undetected. Some such as otters and fox and to a certain extent roe deer are only active under the cover of darkness although this depends to a certain extent on weather and availability of food. If the weather is bad then food is more difficult to find and then, particularly if young have to be fed, the adults will throw caution to the wind and come out during daylight. Some mammals are active during the day but are still quite difficult to see and the red squirrel is a good example.
Perhaps the most obvious mammals to see during the day are seals in the River Ness and they can be either grey seal or the common seal and they have lead to one of the biggest wildlife controversies in recent years. At one extreme people say that the increasing numbers of grey seals in Scotland in general are having a dramatic affect on stocks of game fish such as salmon. Opponents say that there is no evidence of such damage and in any case if the game fish had not been over exploited by man in the first place the problem would not be there. It is difficult to know what to say in Inverness when you see an angler flogging the water to no avail and not far away a grey seal is throwing a sizeable salmon in the air and eating it.
What must be everyone’s favourite mammal in the city is the red squirrel and there are records from many areas such as the Ness Islands, Balloch and woodland near Ardconnel Terrace. At a meeting at Great Glen House, the new office of Scottish Heritage, staff were intrigued to see a red squirrel running along the top of a fence just outside a window. Road casualties unfortunately happen and along the road by the Ness Islands there are squirrel signs warning drivers that there may be squirrels crossing the road. There is a survey going on at present to find out where these attractive animals are still present and any records would be welcome, not only for Inverness but anywhere in the Highlands. The contact in the Forestry Commission at Dingwall is Juliet Robinson, Red Squirrel Conservation Officer. Tel. 07920213704 and her website is http://www.blogger.com/www.highlandredsquirrel.co.uk.
Another rather secretive mammal in the city is the otter and they are associated with the River Ness and Muirton Lagoons. In this area they are mainly nocturnal but one was seen at first light one morning in the summer crossing one of the bridges. Roe deer are also seen and in recent years they have caused damage to some gardens by browsing on trees and shrubs and debarking them. Fencing would seem to be the answer but unfortunately no fence has been designed that can keep roe deer out as they are so small and agile. They have even been known to have their kids in larger gardens and they often have twins that are hidden away in shrubberies and go un-noticed. There are other mammals too and some unwelcome such as the mink along the River Ness and the brown rat that seem everywhere and are now seen even in the day. A stoat was recently seen in the Inverness Railway station and other mammals in the city include mice, voles, rabbits and moles and with a few exceptions this is more or less a cross-section of those mammals in the surrounding countryside.