Bog Myrtle & Peat

I had an email yesterday from WordPress (this blog’s publisher) to let me know that I have been writing Working for Grouse for five years. During that time, I have seen the visitor statistics rise month on month – amazingly, hundreds of thousands of people have come to read about the Chayne from across the… Continue reading

Worth posting a couple of pictures from the last twenty four hours of heavy snow in Dumfries and Galloway. Despite falling with the kind of intensity that would make a Canadian cower, none of this wonderful white stuff seems to be settling with much enthusiasm, and the flurries are interspersed with extended periods of gloomy… Continue reading

I had a chance to experiment with a few different non-toxic loads while wildfowling over the weekend. As it turned out, I was seriously impressed with some of the cartridges I tried, particularly those loaded with Hevi-Shot which I splashed out on at considerable expense (£23.50 for ten of Lyalvale’s finest). Getting hold of non-toxic cartridges which… Continue reading

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to seeing muntjac. The stocky little beasts are more like pigs than deer, and as much as I enjoy shooting them, there is something vaguely surreal about finding them roaming free in the British countryside. Even when they are settled and calm, they dart around like insects, scuttling… Continue reading

Having just returned from Norfolk after a busy couple of days spent chasing muntjac, flighting geese and watching birds, I now have quite a stack of work to catch up on. However, suffice it to say just now that I am ever more in awe of the North Norfolk coast and all that it has to offer… Continue reading

After six days under snow, the hill has wound down to a state of almost total inactivity. Ravens clock and roll in the highest blue, but aside from the odd wren and stonechat in the heather, the only visible birds are the kestrels, which appear to be almost impervious to the cold. The local kestrels… Continue reading

While on the subject of roe (below), it is also worth noting that I currently have a huge glut of venison after a productive stalk at the weekend in a newly planted forest enclosure. The broadleaf trees were being hammered by a small residual population of roe which were fenced in last summer, and we were… Continue reading

A couple of roe deer have been living in a field at the bottom of the hill for the past six months – I always keep an eye out for them when I’m going up to the Chayne, and I’ve started to get an idea of their habits over dozens of “drive-by” observations. In summer,… Continue reading

Driving up to explore a new stalking concession yesterday, I stopped for second to run my binoculars over a field of noisy, jostling birdlife. Just above the Solway where the flat arable fields start to fold and gain altitude, a huge number of golden plover and peewits had settled to scuttle through the short grass. Stirred… Continue reading

Clearing windblown trees yesterday morning, my only companion was a single stonechat. The fat little figure buzzed to and fro between the bracken and the dyke tops as I cleared the wreckage of the wind, heaping the brash and letting the upturned roots plop back into their sockets. The harriers have turned their backs, vanishing… Continue reading