THE recent Spring Meeting of the Highland Biological Recording Group in Strathpeffer was, as usual, a success partly because of the enthusiasm of the 45 or so people who attended.

OVER the last few years there have been considerable changes in legislation regarding freshwater fish in Scotland and that includes the Highlands.

DESPITE the unseasonable weather, dragonflies have been very much in the news recently for two connected reasons.

THE results of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch came last week and it makes interesting reading, particularly as far as the Highlands are analysed.

IN Scotland, the act of 1457 directed that: "Crows should be destroyed and prevented from building in orchards and kirkyards."

EARLIER this year I bought two artificial nests designed for swallows and they are what are called open top nest boxes.

AS reported last week, the garden doocot went, in a somewhat sorry state, to be refurbished. Around five o'clock the starlings that normally roost in the doocot came in and circled for a while and then flew off.

I'M not really sure why doocots have always fascinated, but it may be the fact that they are a remnant of the past, like ice houses.

WITH the combination of warm and cold weather in the latter half of February, it did not come as a surprise that the amphibians were on the move.

WILDCATS have been on my mind recently for a number of reasons and as I write one is gazing down at me.

IT was a telephone call last week from a reader at Bunchrew a few miles to the west of Inverness that made me think of butterflies.

THE Country Diary this week is devoted to garden birds mainly because they have been so much in the news lately. Feeding birds and other wildlife in the garden has now become a national pastime and its importance to our knowledge of birds is often overlooked.

I TRY not to think about the number of societies I belong to or the number of magazines that come through the post each month.

AFTER gales, I make the inspection of the large trees, check the doocot is still standing and that fences have not fallen.

AT last there seems to be some moves on the wildlife legislation front in Scotland, and possible changes that will affect many people in the Highlands.

IT is very unusual to review a book in this Country Diary but in this case it is a very exceptional one. It is Scotland's Freshwater Fish – Ecology, Conservation and Folklore.

THINKING of updates on some items that have appeared in recent Country Diaries reminded me of the invaluable contribution readers make to this column.

THE Highland Bird Report for 2005 has now been published and, as usual, it is not only quite fascinating but it is also a very important archive for what is happening in the bird world in the North.

THE question of shooting certain birds such as cormorants has come up again, partly because of an article about them in a magazine.

OF the islands around the coast of Scotland I have been to – such as St Kilda, Rum, the Monach Isles, Shiants and Sula Sgeir – my favourite is North Rona.

THIS last week has seen a potpourri of events and records throughout the Highlands, and one of the records is particularly intriguing and may be full of potential.

SEALS, either common or grey, do not often make the news these days, although many people have strong views about them.

RECENTLY I visited the Dingwall and Highlands Marts to see what progress was being made with the "Highland Drover Project" by the Highland Livestock Heritage Society.

I AM not sure why I was reading an article in a national magazine about the control of grey squirrels and rabbits, but it certainly altered my point of view over one issue. In one section it was talking about using a .22 rifle to control rabbits on Scottish farms.

THESE days if you talk to anyone interested in birds the subject inevitably turns to the current bird atlas which started last week and will go on for four years, with the end product a winter atlas and a breeding bird atlas.

THE event of the last few weeks has been a sad one that started with the finding of a dead badger on a half mile stretch of road the dachshunds are taken almost daily.

REGULAR readers of this Country Diary will be aware that for the last few years I have been championing any organisation, scheme or system that will encourage youngsters to take an interest in wildlife.

READERS across the Highlands have been in touch about the lack of birds, and for that matter the number of species, in their gardens in the first half of this month.

THIS is the time of the year when the trees appear to take over the landscape as the autumn colours seem to change almost day by day.

IT IS interesting to reflect on what has happened in the world of wildlife in the Highlands in the last few decades.

IT is strange how a minor observation about wildlife can make a difference to ones ideas but such was the case a couple of weeks ago.

A 136-MILE round trip seemed a long way to go to see a single tree but it was also the chance of a trip down "memory lane" with so much to see on the way.

THE latest catalogue from CJ Wildlife is much more than a sales brochure, because the front cover states it is "The Handbook of Garden Wildlife 2007-2008".

WITH age, my sense of smell has been affected but when I answered the door bell last week I knew straight away even from several yards that a neighbour had brought us some fresh mackerel.

THERE seems to be an increasing amount of nonsense being talked about in the wildlife world these days and sometimes from the most unexpected quarters.

THIS week has been dominated by an intriguing, but frightening, story very close to home.

TWO recent events started me off thinking about nest boxes for birds and other wildlife as well as feeders for the garden and plans for next year.

IT COULD have been a story from Wind in the Willows or Alice Through the Looking Glass and yet it all started with a brief telephone call to me from a reader.

THE recent news that a ringed puffin that was at least 34 years old had been re-caught reminded me of my magical days being involved with these attractive, dumpy seabirds.

SOME readers have asked me what happened to the swifts that I mentioned in this Country Diary a few weeks ago.

ONE of the problems with finding out what is happening in the bird world in the Highlands is that many surveys are on a national basis and it is hard to see or analyse references to the north.

THE latest Scottish Bird News, which is the quarterly magazine of the Scottish Ornithologists Club, has a very interesting three-page article by Adam Watson on global warming which everyone should read.

THERE was an interesting programme on BBC’s Landward programme recently as at least three of the subjects were applicable to the Highlands.

WE tend to just accept moths, those insects that fly around the outside light at night and will get into the kitchen if given half a chance.

WHENEVER the subject of eels crops up I cannot help to be amused on two accounts and the first one was very much a joke on me.

A QUESTION I often ask myself these days is whether we are hiding behind the facts about wildlife or even burying our head in the proverbial sand?

IT is just as well that I recently changed my mind about watching wildlife programmes on television and watched Springwatch, as so many people seem to have had the same idea and want to talk to me about the series.

ONE of the success stories of the increase in the amount and type of food put out in gardens for birds is that it has reversed the downward trend throughout Britain, including the Highlands, of the colourful goldfinches.

THE wildlife programme Springwatch started earlier this week and I have resolved to watch as many programmes as I can.

THERE have been reports from readers in many parts of the Highlands of unprecedented numbers of siskins coming into gardens.

SO many magazines have come through the post it has been difficult to know which one to look at first.

THERE have been so many introductions and re-introductions in Britain, including the Highlands, it is now difficult to keep track of them all.

SOME time ago I wrote about the value to wildlife of the sycamore tree and I ended with the statement: “Time for a drastic re-think about the much-maligned sycamore”.

LAST week I had the chance to catch up on the progress of the Highland Livestock Heritage Society as I visited the mart in Dingwall.

BIRD tables have been very much in the news in the past fortnight, particularly as many people have been talking of a shortage of birds at feeding stations in gardens.

AT various times of the year, trees give themselves away in the Highlands by their colour.

WHENEVER I see mute swans in the Highlands it reminds me of two things - the days when I used to ring them and seeing them in the Uists in the Western Isles.

AS regular readers of this column will know, for the last two years or so I have been particularly interested in the ways that youngsters are encouraged to take an interest in wildlife and countryside.

I WAS pleased to see some young faces at the recent meeting of the Highland Biological Recording Group in Strathpeffer.

GARDENING for wildlife is increasingly being covered by the media and fortunately these days this includes the Highlands.

I RECENTLY mentioned the Scottish Wildlife Trust in connection with posters they assisted with in a national newspaper.

THE latest magazine from Butterfly Conservation has an interesting flyer inside entitled The Magnificent Seven.

IN a recent Country Diary, we looked at the five-year species action report from Scottish Natural Heritage.

THERE has been a great deal of hype in the media during the last week about nest boxes as St Valentines day is the date when birds are said to pair up so the nest box week is from February 14-21.

IN wildlife terms one of the most important documents to be published this year is already available as Scottish Natural Heritage has just published their “Five Year Species Action Framework” subtitled “Making a difference for Scotland’s Species”.

IT is always intriguing and somewhat amusing the way that ideas about wildlife and conservation come full circle and such was the case last week.

IT would be interesting to know what wildlife legislation has been passed through the Scottish Parliament since it came in, as I suspect there has been more than for some considerable number of years.

AS I mentioned birds of 2006 in last week’s Country Diary, I thought it might be appropriate to cover mammals for the year, particularly as there were some important milestones that took place.

PEOPLE keep wildlife records in a variety of ways and there are now even computer programmes you can use designed for all manner of groups from birds to butterflies.

THE recent death of a sperm whale on the Moray Firth made me think about the strange attitude we have to these outstanding creatures.

AT one time a Christmas tree meant a Norway spruce plus, if you had the money, some coloured fairy lights.

THERE is something magical about whooper swans calling in flight, perhaps because it is such a haunting call and it carries a long way.

THERE was the usual buzz of enthusiasm at the recent AGM of the Highland Biological Recording Group held in Strathpeffer and there were over 40 people in the room.

THERE are various types of buildings scattered throughout the Highlands that remind us of practices long gone and some out of living memory.

THE recent surveys of Arctic charr in Wester Ross has highlighted this glacial survivor believed to be the first fish to colonise Scottish lochs at the end of the last ice age some 8,000 years ago.

WHEN I attended the AGM of the Highland branch of Butterfly Conservation last week it brought back many memories of the inaugural meeting several years ago at the regional council buildings.

WHEREVER you live in the Highlands, in the last few weeks you are likely to have seen visible migration in the form of geese and swans moving down from the north.

MAMMALS seem to be very much in the news these days whether it is the overpopulation of deer, the spread of the pine marten or the continuing threat of mink.

CALENDAR publishers seem to be increasingly aware of the countryside and its wildlife and there are so many on the market these days it is difficult to choose.

FOR a variety of reasons this year must surely go down, as far as the Highlands is concerned, as the year of moths and butterflies, both in terms of records and publications.

I RARELY watch wildlife programmes on the TV but, last week, I could not help myself as they were showing the red deer rut on the Isle of Rum.

LIVING in the Highlands, there are always icons of the wildlife world to see such as golden eagle displaying, ospreys fishing, salmon leaping, red grouse calling and this month the red deer stags showing off to the hinds.

THE number 100 has been prominent in September for two reasons, both associated with books.

IT'S been very much a mixed bag this week with some encouraging news and some quite alarming.

SOME of us, a decreasing number as years go by, can remember when the only way we could find out what was happened in the natural history world was by word of mouth.

ONE of the oldest style nest boxes for tawny owls is what is called the "chimney" design which is basically four planks of wood screwed together with a base.

THE Handbook of Garden Wildlife 2006-2007 came in the post last week and I note that the firm has changed from C J WildBird Foods to C J Wildlife as far as their brand name is concerned.

ONE mammal in the Highlands has been very much in the news in the last week or so, namely the rabbit.

WHILST it is easy to get information on feeding birds in gardens, mainly because it is a multi-million pound business these days, the provision of water is often overlooked.

THE Highland Livestock Heritage Society has been very much in the news lately, especially as it featured on a recent BBC Landward programme.

LAST week there seemed to be a deluge of magazines and newsletters through the post and it was interesting to see in what way they related to the Highlands and Islands.

WHEN the Highland Bird Report for 2004 landed on my desk, it was difficult to know which section to turn to first so I just started at the beginning and went right through.

EVERY reserve area whether it be a National Nature Reserve, National Park or Local Nature Reserve should have a handbook - a book where everything that is known about the area is logged in some form.

THE garden is alive with young birds with many trying to get to grips with the peanut holders and imitating their parents who sometimes watch closely as if worried by their antics.

THE recent announcement that the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £4.3 million for a new archives centre for historical documents, etc, may focus people's minds on a wide range of subjects from the Clearances to estate maps.

THERE has been news about the mammal atlas for the Highlands as regards progress so far and a date for publication.

IT is easy to bandy figures around about wildlife, especially when you cannot really check them out.

LAST year I did not, for some reason, make my annual pilgrimage to Loch Garten to see the ospreys, but at the end of last month I managed to get down.

THE eagerly awaited book "The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland" has at long last arrived and it is meeting all our expectations as far as the Highlands are concerned.

OF all the many business cards I have been handed over the years, the one that intrigued me most was from a man who came to buy some poultry.

READERS of this column often ask me how I started writing and I was reminded of this in a round about way last week when I was photographing birds in the garden.