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Green Ribbed Sedge
Just worth recording in brief my discovery of a new foodplant for the black grouse on the Chayne. I was watching a proud and illustrious bird sounding off on the peat haggs yesterday morning, and afterwards went up to inspect his display ground once he had cleared off. I found a few droppings which were surprisingly yellow,… Continue reading
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Losing Eggs
Over the past week I have found a depressing amount of eggs which have been predated by crows. A scattering of pheasant eggs is not usually a particularly desperate sign because you have to wonder whether or not the hen bird was clever enough to build a clutch in the first place. I’ve found pheasant eggs… Continue reading
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Hard At It
Worth noting in brief that some greyhens are still visiting the leks, and while they are probably not quite so keen as they were a week or two ago, the general level of blackcock enthusiasm remains undiminished. I had a great opportunity to watch two birds really going at each other at first light this… Continue reading
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A Cuckoo’s Nest?
This afternoon might possibly have led to one of the most exciting discoveries I have ever made on the Chayne. Walking back from checking my larsen traps on the back hill this afternoon, I put up a pipit from her nest almost at my feet. By standing back and craning my neck, I could see… Continue reading
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Hairy Caterpillars
The recent flood of hairy caterpillars on the Chayne has coincided beautifully with the arrival of the cuckoos, and I had a great opportunity to watch a cock cuckoo wiping the bristles off a drinker moth caterpillar at close hand on Friday. As a finale, the cuckoo pinched one end of the caterpillar in its beak… Continue reading
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Of Cows and Grouse
Going through my figures and findings from this year’s black grouse counts in Galloway, I see some interesting patterns and themes emerging. I will publish my findings in a bit more detail on here in the next week or so, if only because it is useful to see where the Galloway birds are in relation… Continue reading
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“Do We Need Grouse Shoots?”
Well worth noting the generally positive article on Langholm Moor in this month’s BBC Wildlife Magazine. BBC Wildlife is a flamboyant victory of style over substance; a magazine so glossy that it is actually quite difficult to pick up, and although the photographs are often stunning, the sheer volume of advertisements and publicity material makes it… Continue reading
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Like A Bird On A Wire
Just trawling through some of the many thousands of photographs I have taken during the past month of lek surveys and black grouse observations and found this one of a blackcock on a telegraph wire at Langholm moor. Several birds were gathered beneath the wires during morning this picture was taken, and a greyhen landed… Continue reading
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Crow Woes
The past few years have allowed me to make some real progress on catching crows, and although the late snows of 2013 made the birds behave very unpredictably, I certainly can’t complain. I have managed to keep on top of the jackdaws, and it is only since February that I have really seen any crows… Continue reading
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Age Divisions
Having written about young birds avoiding the leks earlier in the week (see below), the situation became a little bit clearer while I was up doing a quick tour of leks in Angus and Kincardineshire. It is important to say from the outset that birds in prosperous areas behave very differently to the birds that… 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 