One other matter is worthy of note in Caithness, and that is the steady
yearly decrease of wildfowl.
The upper Caithness moors are breeding ground for wildfowl, geese,
ducks, widgeon, teal, plover, and snipe, all, or nearly all, make their
way down to the lower ground, so soon as they can flap or fly.
They are not killed in the country to any extent, and if reduced by
shooting, it must be by the punt guns in the south, wielded by Sir
Ralph Payne Galwey and his colleagues.
As to golden plover, where seventeen years back there were a dozen
pairs in the spring time, there will not be more than one or two.
A number of arctic birds nest on the flows, gulls of various kinds--the
skua gull, redshanks, and greenshanks (a rare bird), black ducks,
divers, and many others.
In the late October, there are considerable flocks of snow buntings.