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Partridge Poults at 9 Weeks
Despite ongoing miserable weather, the grey partridges are doing very well indeed. Touch wood, all are still alive and kicking, and their breasts seem greyer every single day. Some are even starting to grow the classic horseshoe markings, and their calls are getting more substantial than the conversational clucking which was all they were up… Continue reading
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Mystery Crop
Two months after the game cover crop went in, some odd things have happened. One species from the kale/turnip/radish mix has done brilliantly well and some of the shoots are now almost three feet tall, with small clusters of white and pinkish flowers at the end of each stem. The only problem is that I’m… Continue reading
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Grouse FM
My interview on BBC Radio Scotland was as under-whelming as expected. I sat in Dumfries radio studio and two disembodied voices asked me questions through headphones for about twenty minutes. The resulting dialogue was cut up and put back together again as four minutes. As a result, there are some oddly structured answers and references… Continue reading
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The Secret Gamekeeper
History has shown us that black grouse and commercial forestry do not make good bedfellows. The huge population crashes of the seventies and eighties in southern Scotland coincided precisely with the birth of expansive sitka spruce plantations, and it would be hard to imagine a better way of destroying quality habitat than by draining it… Continue reading
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Catch of the Day
Just returned from a fishing trip up into the Galloway hills, where wild brown trout were present in their dozens and the constant skreiking of a family of young peregrine falcons only just managed to cover the cackling of red grouse. There were black throated divers on the loch, and it was a thrill to… Continue reading
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Black Grouse on the Radio
Just worth putting in an advance warning that I’m down to be interviewed on BBC Radio Scotland about black grouse next monday at lunchtime. I’ve never had anything to do with this sort of thing before, and it seems a long way away from checking fox snares and planting trees. The programme’s being recorded in… Continue reading
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Summer Blues?
It’s been a while since I’ve seen signs of black grouse on the Chayne. They’re certainly still going around, but the majority seem to be on the neighbouring property to the north of the farm. While he was alive, my favourite blackcock provided a good focal point for birds in an easily accessible spot, but… Continue reading
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Game Cover Progress
After six weeks, some of my game cover is doing exceptionally well. My only problem is that I’m still having trouble identifying what is what. The turnips are quite easy to spot, and on the whole, they are contenting themselves by consolidating a thick mat at a relatively low level. By comparison, the radishes and… Continue reading
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Partridge Poults
My attempts to work with grey partridges took a welcome but unexpected turn yesterday when I came into possession of seventeen eight week old poults. Thanks to a reader of this blog, I drove down to Penrith to collect a box of birds which have been totally captivating me ever since I got them home.… Continue reading
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Black Grouse (in book form)
Worth noting at this point that I received the “Author’s Advance Copies” of my black grouse book today! It’s been several years in the making, and much of the first year of this blog runs parallel to the events in the book, alongside a hell of a lot of research and travel around Britain. I… 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 