It’s time to be a goats writer

This billy goat has superb horns which are believed to originate with the Spanish ibex.

MY recent enquiries through this Country Diary about the status of wild goats in the Highlands and Islands drew, as usual, an excellent result from readers.

There has been information from the Isle of Canna in the Western Isles to The Mound near Golspie in the north and Strathdearn in the south.

The wide variety of records came via letters, emails and telephone calls and I am very grateful to all who replied.

Wild goats, as I like to call them rather than feral goats, are a very emotive subject but in this column I will ignore the information on the numbers culled and tribes just shot for no apparent valid reason.

Instead I will concentrate on the tribes that are still there. Some have probably been there for a very long time whilst others have been comparatively recent deliberate introductions.

One of the first records came from someone who runs a pleasure boat for tourists out of Fort Augustus. He records wild goats on the south side of Loch Ness as they go towards Horseshoe Point. This is, as far as a I can tell, near the Knockie Estate south of Foyers. This is as far as the boat goes although in the summer they go as far up as Urquhart Castle.

The goats are seen virtually anywhere along the south shore of Loch Ness. Could these be from those at Inverfarigaig that caused so many problems in gardens there? Perhaps the disturbance just made them move southwards along the shore.

There were current records from the Mound at Golspie and they reminded me of when I worked north of Ullapool in 1969-70. I often used to see the goats on the steep cliffs and it always used to fascinate me that the goats were on cliffs that were also occupied by one of the few inland fulmar colonies in the UK.

The tribe at Aberscross near there is mentioned in literature in the 17th century.

No current records came from Sutherland and Caithness although there are old records from Kinlochbervie and Ben More in Assynt.

The other old northern record was for Inverpolly that was deliberately shot out some years ago.

One of the sites much further south was puzzling as it concerns Munlochy Cliff just north of Inverness. One source says there are still a few goats left on these cliffs, whilst another says there were completely shot out a few years ago. Information on this locality would still be welcome.

One intriguing record was that several years ago some of the wild goats in Strathdearn just south of Inverness were rounded up and moved to the Kiltarlity area, mainly for sport. Perhaps this is the source of some of the records that occasionally come from the Glen Affric/Glen Strathfarrar area.

As I expected, there were a number of records from An Teallach and Dundonnell area. One reader, Donald Mackenzie, even emailed me a series of superb photos.

One of the billies has a magnificent set of horns more in the ibex style and Donald asked why there was the marked variation in the shape of the horns.

As can be seen in his photograph the billy concerned had a dramatic set of horns and was very impressive. This is generally believed to have originated from the Spanish ibex. A well-formed head can have horns with a 30-inch spread.

The other type that has more parallel horns is supposed to be from the Grecian ibex. I have seen both types of horns on the tribes on the Isle of Rum but rarely elsewhere in the Highlands.

The goats on the Isle of Rum have an interesting history. The first records I can find were of domestic goats noted by Pennant in 1772. According to the Old Statistical Account, goat hair from Rum was regularly sold in Glasgow for wig-making during the 18th century.

Later, sporting owners of the island realised the value of goats for stalking and brought in goats from elsewhere such as, in the 1920s, Kyle of Lochalsh and from Mull. The sportsmen were attracted by the outstanding horns and the unusually dense coats

There are still records coming and any others will be welcome and then I will review them again in a few weeks, especially from areas I have not covered so far.

Willows offer early sign of spring

The highlight of the week was a sign that spring is not too far away and it was on my own doorstep. It was the glistening, silvery first growth of the “pussy willows” on some tall willow along our roadside fence.

When we first moved into this strath 23 years ago, there were a wide variety of trees in our acre of ground. These included huge beech and sycamores plus birch, rowan and a range of other native species.

One of the trees we added almost straight away were numerous “slips” of a variety of willows. These were simply twigs about three feet long and a quarter of an inch thick.

To say they have been successful would be an understatement. Some of the tallest are over 30 feet and in few weeks time the silvery catkins which look like buds will change into long tassles.

These willows are one of the best trees for attracting insects and, as we have found out, the early insects that attract willow warblers and other insect-seeking birds.