John Love

John Love may have inherited his childhood interest in wildlife from his grandfather, a crofter and gillie from Sutherland but his father, from Liverpool, encouraged cycle runs around Inverness (which was then quite a small town!). A favourite primary school teacher sought nature notes for homework every weekend but at Inverness Royal Academy John found himself very much in the minority. He shared his Botany class with only five other pupils. Furthermore the Country Club was more a branch of the Young Farmers’ Club, but held some talks and walks after school.

John was encouraged to attend evening meetings of the Inverness Bird Group held in the school during the winter months, with field trips in the summer. A local opthalmic surgeon Dr Maeve Rusk was Chair person with local CID inspector James Macgeoch as Secretary. Both encouraged John and his friend – the only junior members - to assist in their monthly estuary counts. Both also knew the Hebrides well and gave occasional evening lectures. Macgeoch was also Honorary warden for the North Rona/Sula Sgeir National Nature Reserve. He had accompanied the men from Ness to Sula Sgeir and screened a now classic film of their annual guga hunt.

The club also attracted some notable speakers both local and from further afield such as Seton Gordon. His glass lantern slides of mountain birds were inspirational and, back then in 1959, John remembered him as an old man, dressed in a rather tattered kilt. Both man and kilt survived for nearly two more decades!