Bog Myrtle & Peat

Never one to admit that perhaps I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, I received a further three hundred and fifty trees for the Chayne this afternoon. These are largely blackthorn and hawthorn for the new hedge, but there is also half a box of downy birch trees which are going in on an acre of sitka spruce which I recently clear-felled.

I’m saving up a number of thoughts on the relevance of trees to black grouse so that I can post once on the subject and not ramble on about it over a period of time, but suffice it to say for now that although trees are bandied around (primarily by foresters) as being the panacea for all black grouse problems, commercial planting is largely to blame for the fact that there are no black grouse in Galloway anymore. However – (and it’s a very big “however”), I am starting to see that perhaps trees aren’t as bad as I used to think they were for black grouse. It occurs to me that they can be made to serve some useful purposes (aside from providing food, which I am not convinced is all that crucial), and I am tentatively rolling out some hardwood planting here and there in a series of experiments to provide shelter and cover. An additional bonus is that regardless of whether or not these trees are any use to black grouse, they will certainly be handy for grey partridges and any number of little birds.

The main problem is that planting is a very slow, laborious process, and it needs to be fitted in around vermin control, knocking down sitka spruces and actually earning a living. Suffice it to say that this is a busy time of year, and that’s before you add in the excitement (and subsequent exhaustion) brought about by early morning lek watching.