Bog Myrtle & Peat

Having wondered about greylag geese over the winter, it is fun to see the birds beginning to think about nesting on the hill ground. An encounter with an Icelandic greylag in February ramped up the respect I have for these birds, and I no longer think of them as mere feral interlopers. They are certainly capable and intelligent colonisers of new habitats, and their prosperity is a nice contrast to the general decline of more or less every other species in the countryside.

Two or three pairs look like breeding every year on the Chayne, but I have never yet seen them succeed. There was a pair standing proud on the main lek site last week, and I often find their long, pencil droppings on the moss alongside those of grouse and blackgame. I wish them every success, and it will be interesting to study this pair in more detail. Perhaps they will reveal some clues as to why the birds have consistently failed to produce young over the last few years.

It’s hard to believe that the eggs are being predated by crows (although perhaps it is more likely to be ravens?) and it would take a brave fox to raid a nest with a gander on patrol. Hopefully time and patient observation will reveal all…