Bog Myrtle & Peat

After the depressing loss of my greyhen’s brood at the beginning of this month, I took the opportunity to cheer myself up today by visiting a friendly estate in the Borders where black grouse are highly prized and appear to be going from strength to strength. After a cup of coffee with the keeper, I set off onto the hill with my camera to a soundtrack provided by snipe, curlew and lapwings.

Black grouse are now into their moult in southern Scotland and most are hiding in the deep cover, but it was immensely gratifying to see a greyhen with five chicks strolling happily through an area of rough pasture a few hundred yards away. I watched them for a while, and was pleased to see how gamely the little birds followed their mother through patches of young bracken. As a window of sunlight swept across the hill and lit up the little family, I took a series of photographs which I hope gives some idea of a brood in the wild. These birds looked about three weeks old, and now that they have survived their first few vulnerable days, they look set for success.