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Why not catch birds?

Scotland’s islands are rich in habitats, on holms, cliffs, and beaches. People relied on seabirds’ meat and eggs for food to extend their limited resources. Varied geography meant some districts harvested birds and eggs that other places did not.

People ate the meat and eggs and used feathers for bedding and fishing lures. At Pabbay, near Harris, puddings made from seafowl fat were towed behind a boat’s stern so the oily surface quelled breaking water. Bird fat was used as a wound dressing for people or livestock, and North Rona people paid rent with smoked wildfowl.

St Kilda was famed for birds, and people relied on them as others did on fish. Islanders made bait from puffins and lamp oil from fulmars. They made sewing thread from feathers, and shoes from gannets.

Storm petrels were so oily that Shetlanders could make them into a lamp. A twine was threaded through its body, and the oily flesh allowed the wick to stay alight.plus
Storm petrels were so oily that Shetlanders could make them into a lamp. A twine was threaded through its body, and the oily flesh allowed the wick to stay alight.
Puffins were salted in barrels as food in Shetland, and used as bait in St Kilda.plus
Puffins were salted in barrels as food in Shetland, and used as bait in St Kilda.
In later times, islanders used new technology in fowling. They could shoot birds with guns, and eggs were preserved with isinglass (a solution made from fish bladders), which sealed the shells like varnish.plus
In later times, islanders used new technology in fowling. They could shoot birds with guns, and eggs were preserved with isinglass (a solution made from fish bladders), which sealed the shells like varnish.
Every year St Kilda folk harvested 20,000 gannets, which they wind-dried without salt. They preserved the eggs in peat ash, and drank them raw; they were kept for over six months, by when the eggs were horribly foul.plus
Every year St Kilda folk harvested 20,000 gannets, which they wind-dried without salt. They preserved the eggs in peat ash, and drank them raw; they were kept for over six months, by when the eggs were horribly foul.
Islanders used different equipment, depending on cliffs and species. Fowlers, like these in Westray, netted auks and puffins in flight. Long gone from the Northern Isles, this device is still used in Faroe.plus
Islanders used different equipment, depending on cliffs and species. Fowlers, like these in Westray, netted auks and puffins in flight. Long gone from the Northern Isles, this device is still used in Faroe.
Islanders used different equipment, depending on cliffs and species. Some ledges could only be accessed by manoeuvring with a rope and pole, as seen here in Shetland in the 1880s.plus
Islanders used different equipment, depending on cliffs and species. Some ledges could only be accessed by manoeuvring with a rope and pole, as seen here in Shetland in the 1880s.
Fulmars were only found in St Kilda for centuries. A 1698 visitor noted the bird had “a delicate taste, a mixture of fat and lean, the flesh white”.plus
Fulmars were only found in St Kilda for centuries. A 1698 visitor noted the bird had “a delicate taste, a mixture of fat and lean, the flesh white”.
For 150 years a box and tackle hauled a man across this 100-foot gap at Noss. A 1695 observer said this “makes a considerable purchase of eggs and fowl”.plus
For 150 years a box and tackle hauled a man across this 100-foot gap at Noss. A 1695 observer said this “makes a considerable purchase of eggs and fowl”.
Copinsay’s cliffs impressed a 1774 visitor: “the inhabitants procure vast quantities of eggs of all the different seafowl that frequent the rock… nothing can be more dreadful than to see one let over these cliffs, which makes people unaccustomed to shudder”.plus
Copinsay’s cliffs impressed a 1774 visitor: “the inhabitants procure vast quantities of eggs of all the different seafowl that frequent the rock… nothing can be more dreadful than to see one let over these cliffs, which makes people unaccustomed to shudder”.
An 1804 visitor found the Hoy folk were partial to shearwaters: “The young are very fat, and much relished by the natives.”plus
An 1804 visitor found the Hoy folk were partial to shearwaters: “The young are very fat, and much relished by the natives.”
People climbing the cliffs to gather eggs carried a basket for the harvest. Both the Orkney caisie (left) and the Shetland kishie (right) were made from oat straw, in a rounded shape to ensure the eggs didn't fall out on the climb back up.plus
People climbing the cliffs to gather eggs carried a basket for the harvest. Both the Orkney caisie (left) and the Shetland kishie (right) were made from oat straw, in a rounded shape to ensure the eggs didn't fall out on the climb back up.
Islanders made treatments from birds. Harris people applied great auk fat to the hip for sciatica, and St Kildans used fulmar oil for rheumatism.plus
Islanders made treatments from birds. Harris people applied great auk fat to the hip for sciatica, and St Kildans used fulmar oil for rheumatism.

A Timeless Scene...

“Men of Ness in Lewis sail [to Sulisker] and tarry there 7 or 8 days and fetch with them home their boatfull of dry fowls with wild fowl feathers.”

Donald Monro,Lewis, 1549

“They never trust much to rope nor stake. Once they have got footing, they depend more on their own climbing than any rope… Few who make this practice for life die a natural death.”

George Low,Foula, 1774

“[Shags] are esteemed very good food; it is common practice to bury them for four-and-twenty hours in the earth, which is said to render them tender, and to abstract the fishy taste.”

Patrick Neill,Birsay, 1804

Fowling was in harmony with ecology; it continued for thousands of years, and birds remained plentiful. From around 1800 things became commercialised; visiting naturalists collected species for stuffing, and amongst Orkney exports were pens, down, feathers.

After a century of destruction, laws came to protect birds, especially the Wild Birds Protection Order 1902 and the Protection of Birds Act 1954. Today, overfishing, pollution, and habitat loss are new threats to birds.

Shetland, Orkney, and Hebridean fowling was dying-out before any legislation. As island culture changed, culture drew nearer to outside society, where eating birds and eggs wasn’t mainstream. Also, prosperity meant folk didn’t need to catch wildfowl. Fowling still continues in Faroe, and islanders consider it more ethical to eat birds that haven’t lived their lives like battery hens.

The Hebrideans value traditions more than the Northern Islanders. The ancient gannet hunt continues, licensed as sustainable by Scottish Natural Heritage. Ten Ness men are allowed to hunt on remote Sulisker every August.plus
The Hebrideans value traditions more than the Northern Islanders. The ancient gannet hunt continues, licensed as sustainable by Scottish Natural Heritage. Ten Ness men are allowed to hunt on remote Sulisker every August.
The most daring climbers anywhere in Britain were the St Kildans. People went down the island's terrifying cliffs, in places impossible without a rope.plus
The most daring climbers anywhere in Britain were the St Kildans. People went down the island's terrifying cliffs, in places impossible without a rope.
The only Atlantic islands where customs survive is Faroe, where around 150,000 birds are harvested every year, mainly fulmar fledglings and puffins, plus guillemots and razorbills are shot in winter.plus
The only Atlantic islands where customs survive is Faroe, where around 150,000 birds are harvested every year, mainly fulmar fledglings and puffins, plus guillemots and razorbills are shot in winter.
Collecting eggs used to be part of all our ancestors’ lives. Even if egg collecting was legal, few Northern or Western Islanders would relish them like the Faroese still do.plus
Collecting eggs used to be part of all our ancestors’ lives. Even if egg collecting was legal, few Northern or Western Islanders would relish them like the Faroese still do.

How islanders risked their lives to feed the family: the terrifying peril of hunting seabirds and gathering their eggs in the cliffs of Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides.

Dods MacFarlane’s fascinating reminiscence of his part in the gannet hunt off Lewis – a centuries-old tradition that still survives.

Image Credits

Our range of images and photography are provided by:

Shetland Museum & Archives

Orkney Library & Archive

Orkney Museum

Alamy

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