Feathers – Ray Colliers Wildlife in the North

mute swanFeathers are fascinating to most people, including myself, but they are not only attractive but also very useful to us in a wide variety of ways.   A good example is the breast feathers of female eiders that make the world famous “eiderdown”.   The curved, black tail feathers of the blackcock is   used as a cap or bonnet badge by some Highland Clans whilst many feathers are used for fly tying for fishing.    Historically feathers were the main  reason why the RSPB were originally formed as more and more people objected to the slaughter of birds for their feathers.  It started with two British birds, the great crested grebe and the kittiwake, as many were killed to use the feathers for decorating clothes.  The great crested grebe was nearly made extinct  by the feathers being used as muffs to keep ladies hands warm.  The final straw was the massive  use of the feathers of such birds  as egrets and birds of paradise whose plumes become fashionable in the late Victorian era.   So the people, at the start mainly ladies, formed the RSPB that has grown into one of the biggest  conservation bodies in the world.

The use of feathers that has always fascinated me was when the swan and goose primary wing feather’s were used as pens.  These days It is difficult for us to imagine  when ball points and fountain pens were not around as they are now, particularly the former, so widespread.    The answer was to use a large feather specially cut to a fine point at the end.  The original pen knives were so called because they were use to shape the end of the goose feathers like a quill to write with.  Hence the original name of quill knives.  The modern use of the word pen knife came much later.   Which wing feathers were used depended on whether you were left or right handed.  Depending on the right or left wing being used the curve of the feather meant it did not get in the way of the writer.   The best feathers were from the swan simply because of their size and shape.  The photograph was taken of a mute swan on the side of Loch Flemington, several miles to the east of Inverness,  and you can see the sheer size of the main primary wing feathers.

Another specialised use is the “pin feather” of the woodcock which is a stiff, tiny feather only just over an inch long.  It is located in the first joint of each wing and its  stiff, fine shape is used by specialised artists for very fine brush work.  Some artists use it for   drawing subjects  with only the pin feather being used.   So with my  fascination of feathers it was intriguing for me to read of a different use of them although, no doubt, one that has gone on for some time.  It concerns the latest legislation over the shooting of geese in the Western Isles.  The number of geese in the Outer Hebrides have exploded in the last few years and with their grazing they have caused many problems with the island’s crofters.  So the legislation was changed which means that the geese may be shot, and not only that, it meant that their was a relaxing of selling goose meat on the islands.   However, apart from the meat, the wingtips are removed and dried to sell to beekeepers who use them to brush bees off frames when extracting the honey.  Certainly a use which I have never heard of before and adding yet another use for those fascinating feathers.

Tags: