The Rain Goose

Of all the birds we longed to see on our recent holiday on Shetland, the Red-throated Diver, known by Shetlanders as the Rain Goose, figured at the top of the list. It is a characteristic bird of Shetland’s moorland lochs. It has also been called the Lum (old Norse Lomr) and hence many small Shetland lochs (shuns) are known as Loomieshun.

The Red-throated Diver is a rare bird in Britain with only about 900 breeding pairs. These are confined to Scotland with more than half nesting in Shetland. Divers are superbly adapted for life in the water. Their bodies are streamlined with legs positioned at the back of the body to provide efficient propulsion when they dive and swim below the surface in pursuit of small fish. As a consequence divers can only move on land with difficulty, so their nests have to be close to the water’s edge.

Our hotel was located in Veensgarth, a few miles northwest of Lerwick. The owner, Gordon, has provided accommodation for many birders over the years. Discussing our interest in the Rain Goose he directed us to a small loch on East Burra, the loch of Gershon, where he knew birds were nesting. Red-throated Divers are specially protected by law as a Schedule 1 species and as such great caution needs to be observed when approaching a possible site, so as not to disturb them.

We set off on Thursday morning 12th May for the drive, much of this on single track roads with passing places provided at regular intervals. East Burra is sparsely populated and we encountered hardly any other vehicles on our journey. It is a wild, rugged place and a strong south-westerly was blowing. Reaching the loch we alighted from the car, clothed in plenty of warm clothing. Just as well as the wind was determined to make life most uncomfortable! We stood at the loch-edge for more than an hour getting colder by the minute. Nothing. No Red-throated Diver to be seen, just a solitary Shelduck. Really disappointing. That evening, back at the hotel and enjoying a single malt, Gordon appeared. “Did you see them?” he asked. “Afraid not” we responded. “Well, they were there this evening!” he replied (he lives close to the said loch). As Friday 13th May was to be our last day on Shetland we decided to try again the next morning.

We packed the car and set off early for the journey to East Burra. We stood at the side of the loch for another hour in another force 8. Nothing. Just a couple of Curlews. No Red-throated Divers. A huge disappointment again. It wasn’t to be, not on this visit.

Does make me more determined to go back to Shetland though. It’s a beautiful location with friendly locals. I could happily live there…..

Scottish Gamekeepers Association starts bird protection scheme

A new conservation project aims to help stop the decline of some of Scotland’s most vulnerable birds. The Scottish Gamekeepers Association (SGA) will ask its members to record the numbers of birds spotted. This data will then be used to help target conservation efforts towards specific areas.

The wading bird population has dropped dramatically in Scotland with the numbers of some species falling by more than 50%. The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) said its research showed wading birds breed up to three times more successfully on moors that are looked after by gamekeepers.

Despite this, the population of wading birds has dropped dramatically in Scotland with 56% of curlew and lapwing disappearing in 17 years, with golden plover numbers dipping 18%.

Curlew

SGA Chairman Alex Hogg said: “What we are asking grouse keepers to do is to help us build a detailed map of breeding waders on their ground and create a baseline for future years. Whilst the principal aim here is to help wading birds, we also hope an off-shoot of this project is that it encourages gamekeepers to get into the habit of noting the wildlife on their ground so we can establish an accurate picture of biodiversity on managed moorland.”

The project was welcomed by Scottish environment minister Paul Wheelhouse. He said: “I hope this and other similar work being done to conserve wading birds can inform us of the conservation work required to halt the decline of these important species which can be affected by predation of eggs, for example by foxes or crows, or arising from impacts on habitats either through climate change or the influences of changes in land use.”