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Once again the Fishertown fly tippers show their civic pride in our River by dumping a mattress, rather than phone the council to have it removed.
I read with interest on the local Gurn that the River Community Council are planning to take over the grass cutting and other civic maintenance tasks like tree planting, pruning etc. With the Gurn, Liz, Colin and Tommy Hogg, who are all sharing the same political bed, this should surely be fairly easy to achieve ? The River community council should represent the WHOLE COMMUNITY in their patch, Party Politics should stay out of it . However many people in Nairn don't see this at all. I also notice there was no mention of picking up litter from the riverside which I and others have been doing for years. The River Nairn Swans and Waterfowl Trust have been given the cold shoulder by the powers that be - of course Swans and ducks don't vote. The current 60 + plus members of the trust most of whom are members of the local community, have put their money where their mouth is and wish to protect and enhance the river wildlife and their environment - they do vote. I recently offered Liz and the region the chance for the Trust to plant some Rowan, Hawthorn and shrubs at two locations on the tidal reaches of the river at no cost to the region. This was refused, WHY ? Quite simply because the local politicians can see some political kudos in doing it themselves. The reason the Trust wanted to do it, was for the benefit of the birds winter food supply, and the enjoyment that the community would get from it. Had we been given permission it would have already been done. I appreciate that some individuals have a personal dislike of me, but this should not interfere with the greater good of the Town, community, wildlife, and environment. For a small Town like Nairn, there is much too much politics, talk and back stabbing, and not enough support and action for those people and organisations that have the well being of the Town at heart ! Time to start sharing the bed equally !
After 3 months The Bank of Scotland have finally set up the Trust Bank account, it has been a yo - yo application, and the Bank has apologised for the errors and delays, as a gesture of goodwill they will deposit £25 into the account, Thats nearly a week's food supply for the swans and waterfowl.
This spring has been consistently cold, resulting in fewer ducks leaving the lower river to nest, and an increase in the feed required at this time.
Thanks to the trust membership, the Swans, waterfowl and small riverside birds are being well taken care of.
The Rescues carried out over the past year, totalled 23 birds, 8 pigeons, 7 herring gulls, 7 ducklings, and one swan. Then there was Popeye with his infected leg successfully treated.
All but 5 of these survived to be returned to the wild, but 4 of the ducklings have since been killed by predators, including dogs.
The current pigeon
rehabbed at home is doing well, after nearly 3 weeks it is flying about the house, but still has a balance problem on it's weak right side. The symptoms are similar to a stroke victim and it could be permanent, although I am working on the physiotherapy side. Considering it was totally paralysed 3 weeks ago, the progress has been remarkable.
Short vid below.
My Thanks to Sue our Avian adviser for all the helpful advice. Sue is a remarkable woman who carries out extremely difficult and dangerous rescues down south, she gets frequent black eyes, gets covered in mud, occasionally loses her glasses, and has even had a broken rib from a Swan she had to rescue. Well done Sue !
Finally, I heard from a dog walker tonight that she saw a dead Drake off the path verge recently, yet another dog casualty !
I have asked Cllr Liz Mcdonald repeatedly for a few signs between the road bridge and bailey bridge, but she says she doesn't think they will be taken notice of . The Trust feels that educating the public takes time, and responsible signage will have an effect over time, even responsible dog owners agree with this.
