Sgairbh

Skaravak

Skaravak

Ach a-mhàin an fhaoileag uile-làthaireach, ‘s e an sgarbh – còmhla ris a’ cho-ogha aige, an sgarbh-an-sgùmain – an t-eun as ceangailte ri Machair Rois nam inntinnse. Fiù ‘s nuair a bha mi glè òg, bha e na treat a dhol cuirt a-nall gu Skaravak. Bu sin crìoch den t-saoghal a b’ urrainn dhomh ruigsinn air cois, agus bha na h-eòin dubha ana-mhòra (dhomhsa) air a’ chreig, mar sheann draoidhean crotach rògach, an dà chuid eagalach agus tarraingeach.

‘S ann bho ainm Gàidhlig no Lochlannach (torskarv) air an eun a fhuair Skaravak fhèin an t-ainm, ainm a chleachdadh a h-uile duine fiù ‘s nuair nach do chleachd duine Gàidhlig air an Seaboard ach na h-iasgairean. Ann an Arcaibh agus Sealtainn tha ‘scarf’ aca air na h-eoin, agus ann an Gallaibh ‘scarfies’.

Nam bheachdsa tha barrachd dhiubh ann a-nis, agus chì thu iad gu tric nan suidhe air creagan sa Phorst, a’ sìneadh na h-amhaich fhada agus a’ tiormachadh na sgiathan aca sa ghrèin, no a’ gobaireachd ann an sreath air balla-calaidh Bhail’ an Todhair. Bidh sgairbh ag ithe iasg agus easgannan, agus chithear iad air sgèith thairis air uachdar na mara agus a’ daibheadh a-steach gus biadh a ghlacadh. San là an-diugh tha coltas gu bheil mòran sgarbh a’ fuireach a-staigh san tìr cuideachd, a’ neadachadh ann an craobhan agus fiù’s ann an cruinn-dealain, ach ann am Machair Rois bidh iad a’ cumail ris na creagan mar a bha iad riamh.

Sgarbh-an-sgùmain / Shag

Sgarbh-an-sgùmain / Shag

Tha na sgairbh-an-sgùmain caran nas lugha, agus ann an seusan a’ bhriodachadh bidh dath uainealach orra, agus cìr bheag (‘sgùman’, Beurla ‘shag’) air a’ bhathais chas aca. Tha an sgarbh inbhich dubh-ghorm, uireannan le làraichean geala air sliasaid is amhach, agus gun chìr. Tha iad ri fhaicinn le chèile air an aon chreag no bhalla, ach tha na sgairbh nas cumanta.

B’ àbhaist do dhaoine sgairbh a shealg agus ithe – ‘s e biadh sònraichte a bh’ ann, mar ghuga, agus bha feòil gu leòr orra gus teaghlach a bhiadhachadh. Leis na sgilean iasgaich a tha aca faodaidh iad a bhith nam farpaisich do iasgairean ann an iomadh àite, ach ann an dùthchannan eile, mar Shìona, thèid an trèanadh an luchd-iasgaich a chuideachadh.

Gu tradiseanta chithear iad mar shanntach agus gun iochd, na dh’fhaodas a bhith air cùl a’ chliù mhì-shealbhach aca. ‘S dòcha gur ann air an adhbhar sin a chleachd W.W. Gibson sgairbh anns a’ phìos bàrdachd aige ‘Flannan Isle’ (1912), ag innse an sgeul mu thriùir chiopairean-taigh-sholais a chaidh air chall gu dìomhaireach – aon de na pìosan bàrdachd a b’ fheàrr leam aig an sgoil:

And, as into the tiny creek
We stole beneath the hanging crag,
We saw three queer, black, ugly birds—
Too big, by far, in my belief,
For cormorant or shag—
Like seamen sitting bolt-upright
Upon a half-tide reef:
But, as we neared, they plunged from sight,
Without a sound, or spurt of white.

 

Cormorants

P1010905

Caladh Bail’ an Todhair / Balintore harbour

Apart from the ubiquitous seagull, the bird I associate most with the Easter Ross seaboard is the cormorant, along with its close relative, the shag. Even in my early childhood, the promise of “a walk over to Skaravak” was a treat. Skaravak was the limit of the walkable world, and the (to me) huge black birds on the rock, like spooky old wizards with hunched shoulders, were something scary but fascinating.

The bird’s name, sgarbh in Gaelic (pron. ‘skarav’), and torskarv in the Norse languages, gave the landmark ‘Skaravak’ its name, used by everyone even after Gaelic was no longer much spoken on the Seaboard apart from by the fishermen. In Orkney and Shetland they are still called scarfs, and in Caithness scarfies.

It seems to me that they are even more numerous now than they used to be, and you often see them sitting on rocks by the Porst, stretching their long necks and drying their wings in the sun or wind, or gossiping in lines on Balintore harbour wall. Cormorants mainly eat fish and eels, and can be seen flying low over the water and diving for food. Nowadays there are apparently many inland cormorants, known to nest in trees or even pylons, but on the Seaboard they keep to their traditional rocks and cliffs.

Sgarbh / Cormorant

Sgarbh / Cormorant

The shag is a slightly smaller bird, and in the breeding season has a greenish tint, whereas the cormorant is more blue black, and often has white patches on thigh and throat. The shag can also have a small tuft on its steeper forehead. You find them both on the same rock or wall, but the cormorant is more common.

People used to hunt and eat cormorants – they were a delicacy, like guga, and had enough flesh on them to feed a family. Skilled at catching fish, the birds are competition for anglers in some places, but in some other countries, e.g. China, they were actually trained to help catch fish.

They are also traditionally regarded as greedy and ruthless, hence perhaps their reputation for being unlucky. Perhaps that is why the poet W.W. Gibson used them in his 1912 poem ‘Flannan Isle’ about the mysterious disappearance of 3 lighthousemen – one of my favourite poems at school.

Dealbh sgairbh-an-sgùmain le J. Datchens, le cead. Na dealbhan eile leam fhìn.

Shag photo by J. Datchens, with permission. The other photos my own.