Bog Myrtle & Peat

Having acted as personal bodyguard to the blackcock and his greyhen over the past few months, I now have serious concerns that a disaster is on the horizon. I have stripped crows, stoats and foxes off the area where I know she is sitting, and I am now reasonably confident that if the greyhen’s eggs hatch into clear mild weather, she  should have little difficulty in bringing them up as healthy poults. I have less promising hopes for the other black grouse on the hill, but being limited by a shortage of time and resources, I chose to concentrate on preserving one pair rather than doing a half job on a larger scale.

However, if the rain continues to fall as it has for the past week, the little chicks will step into the world for just long enough to catch a chill and die. It seems silly that a bird found only in exposed areas of open moorland should be so vulnerable to cold, wet weather, but it has been shown to make a serious difference to brood mortality. It’s not cold at the moment, but for a little chick that can’t regulate its own body temperature, a good soaking can be fatal.

If it continues to rain, all my work will be wasted this year. While I’ll continue to trap stoats and punch foxes for the greater good, it seems like a great deal hangs on the next few days. Given the depressing nature of this afternoon’s weather reports, I just have to hope that they’re wrong.