There are hides and hides and, although we may not realise it, most of us actually use them, often on a daily basis. As I write, for example, there are siskins and chaffinches feeding only three feet away on two feeders containing nyjer and peanuts. In effect I am using my study as a hide. If any readers looks out of their kitchen window at whatever wildlife they may see and whether in town or country they are using their house as a hide. Every evening, for example, I watch badgers from a hide. In this case it is a room at the end of the house and outside the window I feed the badgers with peanuts. Another type of hide and one for badger watching but that is another story. In contrast there are now many public hides in the Highlands although I can recall a time when there were only two. One is now the world famous hide at Loch Garten, specifically designed to bring ospreys to the nation or should it be the other way round? It has been a resounding success for the RSPB. In early those days there was only one other, which I regularly used to visit. It was the less well known goose tower on Loch Druidibeg NNR in the Western Isles. The hide was there to study the greylag geese that, in those days, were rare as a breeding bird in Scotland let alone the Highlands and Islands.
One of my long term favourite public hides has always been the one at Udale Bay near Cromarty on the Black isle. I am not sure why the attraction for me, but there is the essence of the coast and its magic although to be accurate it is a firth rather that the open sea. If you judge the tide right, there is always a great deal of bird activity. The best time is just before the tide is full and just after it starts to ebb. This is when the birds are not only making maximum use of the rich feeding in the exposed mud but also when the birds are closest to the hide. My visit last week was to the long awaited brand new and larger hide to replace the old one. I had my misgivings about the need for a new hide but not after I went inside for the first time and saw the new layout and its sheer potential.
The new displays still have to be put up but the new daily log book was up and running and it was obvious that early visitors were already impressed. Its size is designed for encouraging groups and families and can fully be recommended if it attracts youngsters. As always the birds on the mud and saltmarsh were attractive, but for me the butterflies on the narrow strip of grassland just in front of the hide stole the show. There were meadow browns, many whites, Scotch argus and small tortoiseshells. I do not normally support financial appeals for wildlife but if the RSPB were to launch one to fund planting that strip up as a wildflower meadow then I for one would support and encourage it. Then there was the swallows’ nest actually under the outside eave of the hide. The adult swallows were repeatedly swooping up so I presumed they had large young birds in the nest. It is very unusual to have an outside swallow’s nest and, despite at one time studying swallows and ringing them, I can only ever recall one outside nest. Surely this calls for some artificial nests, plus some for house martins at the same time, for next season. The RSPB must be heartily congratulated on this venture and I would urge readers to visit it. The new displays should be up by the time this page is published. When I was there several people visited the hide and were obviously very impressed, as I was.