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.