Grouse
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My first lek
My work to regenerate black grouse habitat on the Chayne has drawn all its energy from my imagination. I have seen etchings and illustrations of black grouse shooting in the Victorian age, and local guns in their fifties and sixties still vividly recall the thrill of the sport, but only ever having seen three of Continue reading
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Black grouse “highways” on the Chayne
One of the main obstacles to the process of encouraging black grouse back onto the Chayne is the fact that there is only one small wood on the entire farm. The birds come out of the neighbouring forestry, find the heather and blaeberry they are looking for, then return to the cover of the trees. Continue reading
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Dietary requirements
Looking for more information about trees for black grouse, I found this cracking chart online. As far as I can tell, silver birch are shown as being the most important tree species for the black grouse’s year, and although I have already planted fifteen, I am sure that another dozen or so won’t do any Continue reading
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Grit where it’s needed
Six weeks ago, I set up some grit stations for the grouse. Working on the basis of where I last saw the birds, I turned over six peat turfs within ten acres of moorland and covered the exposed black soil with flint grit. When I went up to check them this morning, only one has Continue reading
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Grouse counting with the NOBs
The grouse have paired up on the Chayne, and they’ll soon be beginning to nest. It is the perfect moment to conduct a count and work out precisely what territories are where on the farm, but not having the know-how or the resources to carry out the task on my own, I needed help. I Continue reading
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An identity crisis
In a previous post, I mentioned that I had found a female black grouse feather on the farm. After a few hours of reflection, I was not so sure. The yellow feather is around three inches long and has two dull grey bars across it which almost meet in a point two thirds of the Continue reading
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Where to plant the juniper
The time is fast approaching to fence off my juniper stand. The spring is coming in and the time for planting will soon be upon us. Ever since the idea was first presented to me to plant a new spinney, I always planned to site it on the spot where the last black grouse was Continue reading
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The Nitty Gritty
Grouse don’t have teeth. It would halve their romantic appeal if they did. Imagine the heathery uplands filled with grinning birds, smiling and winking like body builders on Muscle Beach. It would be a grotesque spectacle, and every day I am grateful that all birds have an alternative method of ‘chewing’. Like many moorland birds, Continue reading
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Silver birch: the good stuff
I have been reading my book on grouse. It is divided into four chapters – red grouse, ptarmigan, black grouse and capercaillie, but although I have an A-level in biology, I’m finding it rather heavy going. Graphs and tables can only keep my attention for so long, but I have picked up all sorts of Continue reading
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The discovery of black grouse
The tenant who currently works the Chayne remembers seeing fifty black grouse in a hay field behind the farm buildings. That was thirty years ago. Ten years have passed since he last saw one. Black grouse have been on a massive decline in Britain since the mid nineteen sixties, when upgraded agricultural techniques destroyed their Continue reading
About
“Shout on, Morgan. You’ll be nothing tomorrow”
Swn y galon fach yn torri, 1952
Also at: https://andtheyellowale.substack.com
Bog Myrtle & Peat 