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The Moult
During the last two days, my pet blackcock has suddenly lost a great deal of feathers on his face and down his neck. I’ve been expecting his moult to kick in for the past week, but observing it at close hand has meant that I can see just how quickly it happens. Over the next… Continue reading
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The Island of Corncrakes
Just a quick mention of a fantastic holiday on Tiree. Corncrakes could be heard everywhere, drowned out only temporarily by the calls of lapwings, redshank and oystercatchers, all with fuzzy chicks in the broad, sunlit machair. Basking sharks and minke whales broke through the clear, turquoise sea water, and arctic skuas prowled the beaches above… Continue reading
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The Value of Scottish Sport
Couldn’t resist responding to Andy Wightman’s article on reform for country sports in Scotland. Having been asked by the Scottish Field to contribute his thoughts upon country sports, Wightman was surprisingly bemused to find that the great bastion of Scottish conservatism was unwilling to publish his “hang the lairds from the highest steeple” missive. However,… Continue reading
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Partridge Army
To celebrate their third week, it’s worth including this picture of my first batch of partridge chicks, which are now thriving in a ten foot square pen. I realised too late that I should have made the clutch sizes bigger for each broodie, since I now have three hens with just eight chicks each –… Continue reading
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Langholm’s Mix
Having visited the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project a few times over the past eighteen months, it’s been interesting to see the various techniques used to restore the horrendous damage caused by heather beetle which took place largely during 2010. More than a thousand acres of heather were wiped out altogether during these outbreaks, and without… Continue reading
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Over-Egged
It has now been several weeks since my first partridge egg. I have ten clutches either hatched or due to hatch and was finally beginning to feel a little exhausted by it all when I found that one pair had finally stopped laying. A hint of relief crossed my mind, and I imagined that the… Continue reading
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The Squeamish Buzzard
Interesting to note the ongoing uproar around the buzzard licences granted to an English pheasant shoot which was suffering from what was deemed “unacceptably high” predation levels. It seems that licences to destroy nests were granted in April after non-lethal deterrents were shown to be ineffective, and having the good sense to keep it quiet… Continue reading
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Whinchats
Just worth including this picture, which is the first that I have ever taken of a whinchat on the Chayne. Two pairs live in an area of heather and willow scrub beside the farmhouse, and I’m used to see them everyday throughout the summer. When I first noticed them, I always thought that they were… Continue reading
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The Partridge Greenhouse
Now that my first batch of partridges is almost a week old, they have been moved into new accomodation. For their first week, the broodie hen was restricted in her coop and the chicks were allowed to come and go as they pleased onto a small area of grass bounded by paving slabs. During the… Continue reading
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The Woodcock Survey
The past few evenings have been spent sitting out on the hill as part of the GWCT and BTO’s woodcock roding survey, which should be on the “to do” list of anyone who shoots. The survey is not difficult, and it provides a great excuse to get out in the gloaming during two of the… 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 