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Under the Moon
At the risk of hyperbole, I can’t resist saying again just how pleased I am with my Nordik “Crying Bird” fox call. In two weeks, I have used it to shoot more foxes than I would normally have managed in several months, and each time they have come roaring in like trains. Not only is… Continue reading
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March Memory
Clearing some old photographs off my computer, I happened to come across this one from three years ago. I had all but forgotten this moment, which involved a quick snap and then a slack-jawed gaze as the black and white rocket shot off from my feet, climbing in height until it vanished into the blue… Continue reading
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Windfarm Cutting
Pushing on with the lek reconnaissance for 2014, I visited Blackcraig this afternoon; soon to be the home of Galloway’s most controversial wind farm. There are black grouse on this long heathery ridge which runs Northeast from Balmaclellan, but as with so many other areas to the East of the Glenkens, the numbers simply aren’t… Continue reading
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Grouse Hens
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
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Ptarmigan Cock
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
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Partridge Cock
Just wanted to post this photograph of one of my escaped partridge cocks which jumped up on the dyke behind my office in the evening sun a few minutes ago. My breeding stock wintered well, but when a few birds escaped last month, a sparrowhawk took great relish in killing all the hens but one.… Continue reading
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Topper Troubles
The tractor has been lying motionless for three months, since the fuel return pipe crumbled into dust and sprayed the engine with half a tank of diesel. Some concerted support from friends and family has seen the rusty leviathan return to pride of place once more, this time decked out with dual wheels and a… Continue reading
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The Cottongrass Returns
As the Spring continues to develop, I spotted the first fresh cottongrass flowers on the Chayne yesterday afternoon. The value of these shoots to grouse and blackgame makes their arrival a bit of a milestone in itself, and combined with the ever growing stack of pugnacious larks, the character of the moor is taking on… Continue reading
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Lamping Kit
It’s not often that I find myself trying to “review” products on this blog, and on the whole I tend to avoid that kind of thing – But I can’t resist posting to include some mention of two pieces of kit which led to the satisfactory undoing of one of the Chayne’s biggest and ugliest… Continue reading
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Curlew’s Return
Today was the moment I’ve been waiting for these long months past. High up on the breathless slopes above Dunscore, two curlews rose out of the blue frost and let the updraught of the Cairn Valley get under their wings. Whining with all their baleful, gloomy glory, they flashed their white rumps and paidled out… 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 