Sir,

We are sitting on a ticking bomb, regarding the birds of our countryside!

We have to listen to a one-sided narrative misinformation coming from Nature Scotland supported by our unions, who have no clue of what is happening in the countryside – they are engrossed with freebies from Scottish government, blinded by the money God.

Like all farmers and crofters that work the rural landscapes, we have to keep our eyes open, we notice change, we notice that the birds that frequent our holding are not as plenty as before. Where are they? What has happened to them?

Yet no one answers this question, they are afraid to answer as they would admit that the environment policies of all those rosey years ago are having a detrimental effect on our nature.

Toxic sprays are sprayed on the landscapes, no one bothers to read the label, on routine year-on-year, its got to be done – this poison kills the bugs and insects that our bird population depends.

Environmental schemes that change the way the countryside is farmed – can't harvest before a certain date, must leave the ground fallow – who benefits? Not the birds, not our ecosystem!!

Even if the lesser birds manage to survive they have to run the gauntlet of predator birds protected by law, and the White Tailed Eagle that should not be in our countryside, taken in like trinkets from a foreign land.

'Ah-ha', those in power might scoff, 'there are still plenty of the lesser species around, but we must protect our madness at all cost, think of the tourist trade, think of all those crofters and farmers that are overstocked, we are regulating their stock!'

RIP poor birds, you lasted thousands of years, now you are on the slippery slope.

Angus A Macdonald, Balivanich, Benbecula