WILDFOWLERS on the Tay have exchanged the role of hunter for that of
conservationist to establish a nature reserve on the river's largest
island.
Historic Mugdrum Island has been taken over by the Tay Valley
Wildfowlers' Association. Its 90 acres will now become a protected haven
for a variety of birds, including three-quarters of Scotland's swallow
and house martin population which feed in the island's reed beds.
Much of Mugdrum, which was once inhabited by the Picts, was reclaimed
from the Firth of Tay by Napoleonic prisoners of war, who constructed a
sea-wall around it in the 1790s.
It was farmed until the 1920s and has been declared a Site of Special
Scientific Interest, with significant populations of mallard, teal,
curlew and redshank. During the winter it is home to pinkfoot and
greylag geese.
The wildfowlers' association has concluded a long-term lease with the
Tay Salmon Fisheries Company, which owns the island, and is to conduct
surveys to assess how the habitat can be improved.
Mr Donald Muir, chairman of the Tay Valley Wildfowlers, said: ''We are
delighted to have signed a long-term lease. We are not planning to shoot
the island and have leased the site purely as a reserve so that we can
put something back into the area as conservationists.''
The lease has been paid for from a separate conservation fund which
has been established by the wildfowlers.
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