Partridges call on the edge of darkness. Spring is rousing them to frenzy, and the shapes of the small birds linger in the peripheries from dawn to dusk. The cocks have grown wattles which swell up their cheeks, and many have been fighting as the covey continues to crumble and disperse. Their vocabulary has expanded Continue reading

The first thing I did was plant a hedge. Within three hours of collecting the keys from the estate agent, I was digging in a line ofhawthorn whips. I had hardly been inside our new house, and focused instead on more important matters. Much of my conservation work is characterized by impatience; a refusal to Continue reading

It has been depressing to read through the black grouse lek survey results from 2017 in Dumfries and Galloway. Figures show that the birds have declined considerably over the past eighteen months, and the number of blackcock has dropped by almost a quarter since 2016. There are now reckoned to be fewer than 100 birds Continue reading

The escaped partridges continue to prosper on the rough ground behind the house. Their shrill calls have become a feature of dawn and dusk, and it is fast becoming hard to imagine life without them here. I went out into the yard before dawn this morning and could dimly make them out against the dark Continue reading

It’s worth recording the installation of a new owl box in the hayshed at  the back of the yard. I built the box in September, but it has taken a few weeks to assemble the parts and the expertise to install it at the top of a twelve foot wall of cinderblocks. With a good Continue reading

The mink traps have been ticking over on the riverside, and I was satisfied to catch up with another last week. This latest mink was a juvenile female, implying that there is a resident population in the vicinity. As I’ve started to explore the surrounding area over the past few weeks of autumn, I’ve found all Continue reading

I can’t resist making plans for the future on our new piece of farmland. I’ve already planted one length of hedge, and this is just the beginning of a grander plan to link the fields together in a system of thick hedgerows which can be laid and managed for wildlife. All of this work is Continue reading

Having made initial contact with the local mink population in August, I found a couple of hours yesterday afternoon to walk the riverbank and look for further signs. I am no expert in mink, and it took a while for me to recalibrate my brain to a watery world after years on the heather hill. Continue reading

It is ever more satisfying to witness the progress of my new hedge, which has come on in leaps and bounds since it was cut this spring. Many of the trees have bounced back with astonishing vigour, and many of the stumps have now bushed out with fresh growth that is almost five feet tall. Continue reading

As a retrospective update on my barn owl box experiment this year, I was keen to find out what (if anything) the birds had achieved during their period of enthusiastic activity in May and June. Having solemnly resisted the temptation to look too closely at the nest box for fear of disturbing the occupants, I Continue reading