Having travelled across the country last year researching the subject of black grouse, I came across some fascinating information. Perhaps most interesting of all is the work of a community group on the Isle of Arran which is dedicated to reintroducing black grouse to the island. After an absence of several years, the group was Continue reading

Owing to a communication breakdown last week, a digger was sent through the greyhen’s nest at precisely the wrong moment. I could hold forth for hours on the fury and disappointment I felt when I saw that she had been put off her nest, but the fact is that it’s too late to whine about Continue reading

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 Continue reading

Black grouse are some of the fastest British gamebirds. Their deceptively large size and bulky shape might make you think that these birds are the equivalent of a lumbering Avro Lancaster on the wing, but in truth, they can hit speeds of over 70mph, and they could probably fly even faster downwind if they didn’t Continue reading

It’s been a few days since I published a picture of my favourite blackcock, so without further ado, I would like to present the photograph I took this evening while walking my trap line. How could anyone not love these birds? Continue reading

The blackcock is back on his old lekking ground. After an absence of two weeks, he has returned a few days ago to precisely the same spot that he used last year. An early rising friend saw what he thought was a greyhen with him last week, and although his report was extremely exciting, I Continue reading

The further away we move from the illusion of death and lifeleness which was so apparent in December and January, the more interesting things become. The seasonal aggression and territorial behaviour of crows is playing against them as, day by day, they vanish into my larsen traps, while lapwings, curlews and oystercatchers are establishing their Continue reading

The blackcock which spent the past few months around the farm buildings vanished around a fortnight ago. His usual haunts were abandoned, and he started to appear in unusual new places. Last year, his lekking displays were confined to a single large field, and he continued to display there even into July. I ascribed his Continue reading

The red grouse territories on the Chayne are necessarily massive. The heather quality is so poor that pairs of birds need a great deal of space to rear their broods, and while this is in the process of changing, it limits my ability to learn about the birds. Driving south of Edinburgh this morning, I Continue reading

Having  been looking into black grouse lekking behaviour over the past two months, I was surprised this morning to watch a blackcock fall fast asleep with his feathers at full lek arrangement. He had been patrolling through some marshy ground, and came to a halt after half an hour. He pulled his head into his Continue reading