Cottage Holidays throughout Scotland

In a recent “From Our Files” in a local Inverness newspaper Rare Birds are mentioned  for the date, 150 years ago, of 29.12.1859.   A local “birdstuffer”, as he is termed, was Mr Macleay who had received some very rare birds for preservation.  The bird of particular note was a male specimen of a bimaculated  duck that was shot on the local firth where it was in the company of a large flock of mallard, widgeon, etc.  Two very rare gulls were also taken, the Iceland gull and the glaucous gull both shot on the west coast.    These days it may seem strange to have such birds mounted by a taxidermist but at one time this was the norm.  Indeed many people just went out to shoot birds, rare or common, just  to have them mounted and put into display cases.

In some incidents  this urge to display birds led to the decline and even  demise of certain  species.     Reading the books of   Charles  St. John, 1809 – 1856 and his exploits in the Highlands give  indications as to what drove these people to collect birds, skins as they’re often called, and eggs.  The classic case was the osprey and even the sea eagle.      Less well known was the near fate of the St. Kilda wren that was so reduced in  numbers that special laws were passed to protect the few that were left.  The islanders collected their eggs, clutches of them, and sold the adult birds,  to the so called collectors of the time via visitors to the islands.    The rage for displays was not only for birds but also for mammals and even fish and amphibians.  

Taxidermy and the mounting of birds and mammals, particularly the latter, is still a thriving business although perfectly legal  these days.  A good example is in the various species of deer in the Highlands.  Gone are the days when large numbers of “heads” of red deer were used to adorn the walls of stately home and castles.  A well known building  is Kinloch Castle on the Isle of Rum where some rooms have walls adorned with dozens of heads.  The twist in this story is that Rum was unlikely to provide large outstanding heads because of the food availability.  So park deer often with huge heads and large numbers of points were brought in to breed with the  resident deer.

The stalking of red deer, and for that matter roe and  sika, in the Highlands is necessary to control their numbers.  Within this is a thriving financially orientated business where people pay large sums of money to shoot specimen heads of either species.  If the stalker pays out large sums then he or she will want a memento and here again lies the role of the taxidermist.  A recent price list,  where the client provides the mammals, indicates that a red deer stag can cost as much as £700 and a roe over £400.     In recent years there has been some interest in  stalking wild goats for their heads as trophies and this has provoked much discussion.  At the Moy Game Fair near Inverness a few years ago the billy goat in the photograph was on sale for well over £200.  The current rate for such a specimen, provided by the client, could be over £500.    Attitude to  mounted specimens varies considerably.  Some people like to have mounted specimens in their houses and not in show case but just as ornaments.  Shooting people may like to have their quarry mounted and on display such as pheasants, grouse and duck and mammals such as hare and the fox is a popular subject.

One of the results of the recent severe weather was the suspension of the shooting of wildfowl and some waders. This conservation measure came about after advice from Scottish Natural Heritage to the Scottish Government. It was supported by a range of other bodies who were involved with the consultation including the RSPB and The British Association for Shooting and Conservation. The main principle involved was the problem many such birds were having in finding food supplies with the freezing temperatures. After 5th January the ban would last for 14 days but would be reviewed after seven. At the time of writing it is difficult to see that the ban could be lifted after seven days. The close season for wildfowl , when shooting must stop, starts on 31st January although there is an extension for birds below the high water mark. This means the quarry duck and geese in the firths around Inverness. However with such a prolonged cold spell most wildfowlers will themselves give the birds the benefit of the doubt and stop shooting for this season.

The wildfowl involved included geese such as greylag and pink-footed geese and the Canada goose. The ducks covered a wider range and included teal, mallard, wigeon, pintail, shovelers and pochard. The waders included common snipe, woodcock and one that is often overlooked, the golden plover. The woodcock is an interesting species as they are mainly woodland birds although in severe weather some may move to the coast. The two surprises on the list were the moorhen and coot and some argue that these should be removed. The problem is that many of the shooting laws are so old, indeed some of the laws over game go back very many years and are written in Old English!
As for moorhen and coot in some ways it goes back to the two World Wars when the range of birds, and for that matter some mammals, were on the shooting list as rations were very short. In a cookery book written pre 1949 both the moorhen and coot are listed under the menus. The recipes for moorhen starts with the comments that the words moor hen sometimes refers to the female of the red grouse. It was supposedly allied to the moor cock, or moor game, which are local names of the the red grouse in Scotland. The book hastens to add that it is quite distinct from the grouse being a water bird. It mentions they lack flavour and are coarse eating. There are only two recipes for moorhen, broiled and roasted. The coot was not much value as food when the book was written but formerly it was much sought after costing at one time from 1sd 6d to 2s each. It makes the point that the bird should be skinned not plucked.

The majority of wildfowl shot in the Highlands are the various species of ducks although before legislation stopped the selling of geese very large numbers of them were taken. The mallard tops the list of the numbers shot which partly relates to its size and the sheer numbers. The situation is also confused by the numbers of mallard that are reared and released specifically for shooting. The numbers released runs into thousands each year and even one estate can introduce 1,000 or more birds each year. At the other end of the scale is the teal, the smallest of the quarry birds, although it is widespread and numerous in the winter. The winter numbers for Scotland are around 38,000 whilst the number of breeding pairs are around 3,000.