The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Watching the birdies
“Working in our garden on Kinnoull Hill, accompanied at close quarters by our resident robin, I heard the cry of a buzzard above me,” writes a Craigie regular.
“I stopped weeding and looked up, but took some time to locate the bird as it had moved from its first location and kept moving, calling and circling as it went. Finally, I caught sight of it and watched it for a moment or two. No doubt it was circling looking for small animals below in the meadows and trees.
“I turned back to my task to find the robin impatiently waiting for me to turn up with the rest of its midday meal. It fixed its beady little eye on me and put its head on one side as if to say:‘I wish this old buzzard would get on with the job in hand.’
“It was one little bird watching one old buzzard watching another much more handsome buzzard.
“By the way, what food obtainable from a pet food shop could I buy for our robin? He comes so close, sometimes less than six inches away, that I am sure he would eat from my hand if I could make it worth his while.”
Do let us know if you can advise our reader and if you have any interesting bird stories to tell about your own gardens, we would love to hear them and print them in the column. quarry entrance with my late father, he mentioned the involvement of his great great grandfather Donald McDonald with this quarry, by then abandoned.
“Appetite whetted, I did some research and confirmed that Donald McDonald had been born in Findynate, Strathtay on October 13 1803, younger son of John McDonald , weaver of Dull and his wife Janet Connacher from Logierait. “Donald and his two wives were the progenitors of 13 children, their descendants today living worldwide. Donald died in the quarry manager’s house at Druids View, Pitroddie on December 2 1887. He had 10 children by his first wife Ann Roger and three by his second wife Margaret Stewart.
“Official documents over the years described Donald as ‘quarrier’, ‘foreman’ and ‘quarry manager.’
“However, he had originally been the leaseholder of the quarry but following a huge increase in rent, he gave the lease up.
“Thereafter, around 1860 the lessees became mainly the Dundee police commissioners with an interest from the Perth District Roads Committee.
“The police commissioners appointed Donald to manage the quarry and thereafter, dressed setts, flags and channelling etc were sent to Dundee by train from the police commissioners siding at Inchcoonans in the Carse of Gowrie.
“Thus a good deal of the street paving etc of Dundee from the 1860s onwards originated in Pitroddie quarry.
“At least 10 workmen, including quarriers , stone dressers and labourers were working there in 1876 a number of them living in cottages provided at Druids View by the police commissioners and there were also at least two local carters transporting the stone products to Inchcoonans under contract, for onward transmission to Dundee by the Caledonian Railway Company.
“The advent of the Second World War saw the demise of the quarry and its lessees by then were Messrs Martin & Macfarlane, the management based in Errol.
“Incidentally, Donald McDonald had also served the Pitroddie community as precentor, manager and elder of the United Presbyterian church of Pitroddie.”