Bog Myrtle & Peat

It was a beautiful morning, and from the high ground it was possible to see for several miles in every direction, down over the shining grass where the blackgame poults are growing fatter and the sheep browsed idly over the wine red moss. On a day like today, there is a huge amount to be… Continue reading

Just as a follow-up on the previous post, the greyhen was absolutely delicious. It was obvious even when gutting her that she was going to taste very much like a red grouse, but the reality was a milder and rather more varied flavour. She was only a young bird so the meat was extremely tender… Continue reading

Having been up stalking and grouse beating in Aberdeenshire for the past couple of days, I returned home last night with an extraordinary and unforseen cargo. While beating yesterday afternoon near Fettercairn, a greyhen rose up from the heather at my feet with a clatter. As soon as she was up and going, she stuttered… Continue reading

Perhaps I am over-emphasising the extraordinary crop of young black grouse which has materialised in Galloway over the past few weeks, but for an obsessive enthusiast who has spent six years chasing rumours and vague sightings, this sudden avalanche of birds is almost accompanied by choral singing, beams of sunshine and a trumpet fanfare. The… Continue reading

My track record on New Year’s resolutions is generally very poor. Being a thorough-going Scotsman, I take Hogmanay extremely seriously, but while promises made in December are always sincerely meant, they are rarely followed through. Not only does my nationality mean that I vigorously celebrate the turn of the year, but I subsequently suffer from… Continue reading

The long, warm summer seems to have been excellent for all kinds of species, and one conspicuous winner has been the humble vole. Earlier on in the year, it was impossible to walk more than a hundred yards without seeing two or three little shapes buzzing through the tussocks, and this is in stark contrast… Continue reading

Three years ago, I put a couple of owl boxes up on the Chayne. One was blown away during a storm last winter, and the other has gradually ticked over without too much activity ever since. Assuming that it was in a bad spot, I took a ladder up to inspect it yesterday, finding it… Continue reading

In the chaos of moving house and trying to get married in October, I finally found my camera four months after losing it. Flicking back through the pictures, I found that the memory card was housing all the lost photographs I took during the weeks either side of Easter weekend this spring, and many of… Continue reading

Any excuse to publish this picture, which was taken by an automatic trail camera at Finzean Estate this spring. Capercaillie have always been in the background of my investigations into black grouse conservation, and having spent a morning amongst them on Deeside last week, my interest is seriously piqued. Finzean won the Heather Trust and GWCT’s… Continue reading