It was a cracking day to walk the hills yesterday, counting grouse on a moor near Ballintuim where blackgame are often found in greater numbers than red grouse. After a soggy morning on some rough ground where the dogs kicked up the odd blackcock, we headed further out onto the hill and began to sweep Continue reading

Having just returned from two days counting grouse and exploring the hills of the Isle of Man, it is not easy to be brief. This is certainly a subject that warrants further coverage in due course, but suffice it to say for now that the distant shape of the Island which always lurks on the Continue reading

Interesting to be sent this photograph by a friend which was taken from Seton Gordon’s 1938 book Wild Birds in Britain – The picture appears to have been taken on Deeside where the birds today remain in some considerable quantity, but while the blackcock themselves are pretty stirring, more notable is the countryside they are Continue reading

Sitting out on the Chayne a few nights ago during the last few sparks of daylight, it was interesting to hear the various grouse cocks sounding off their positions in a massive bowl of moss, heather and fallen grass. Almost three quarters of a mile separated the two furthest cocks, and the intervening space held Continue reading

Worth commemorating the fact that I managed to get up over Glenshee on Tuesday afternoon after running some errands in Perthshire. Heading up from the ski centre is always a mixed blessing, with the roar of the ski lifts, the grind of the piste bashers and the whoops and chatter of snow enthusiasts. On the Continue reading

It was a fantastic day for a walk in the hills above Gatehouse of Fleet, where the last year of good weather has stirred the embers of the local black grouse into a moment of relative prosperity. Whether or not this boost can be sustained by a second year of sunshine and warmth remains to Continue reading

The A9 has a bad reputation from everyone’s perspective. The police hate it because it’s so dangerous, drivers hate it because of the speed cameras, and mountain hares hate it because so many of them get flattened on it. By contrast, I love the A9. Fortunately, I don’t drive it so often that I am Continue reading

After having sat in a cramped conference hall outside Barnard Castle throughout yesterday morning, it was a relief to hop in the car and head off up into the hills. The meeting had looked in some detail at grouse health, but while the speakers were very useful, I felt a strong urge to get in Continue reading

Today is the fourth birthday of this Working for Grouse blog, so that is worth commemorating in some way. As far as the statistics go, I am fast approaching 100,000 unique visitors, with many of them in past eighteen months. This is without much in the way of advertising or promotion beyond the occasional “tweet”, Continue reading