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Life in the Trees
The past week has been spent chaotically planting trees in the name of black grouse (post to follow), and I’m already sick of it. The real joy of planting trees comes a few years down the line when they are really establishing themselves, not as you’re hammering tree stakes into stoney ground or lugging tubex… Continue reading
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Looking for Lekking
It was an early start this morning and up onto the hill to try and get this year’s black grouse census underway. It’s still a little early for blackcock to be displaying at full bore, but after a cold, frosty night and a decent mist up on the high ground, it seemed too good an… Continue reading
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A Goshawk Silver Lining
It was just a few months ago that I saw my first ever goshawk on the Chayne. Since then, sightings have become increasingly common, particularly around the woodcock strip, a long band of sitka spruces which I have been thinning out, clear felling and replanting in stages for the past three years. It could be… Continue reading
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Rebuilding Confidence
Just worth mentioning that the blackcock who was spooked by the goshawk last week seems to be overcoming his cowardice and spent part of this afternoon lekking on the farmhouse lawn. By the time I got down to see him, he had given up and was sulking amongst the snowdrops, but at least he’s getting… Continue reading
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Transplanting
For all I complain about commercial woodland on this blog, I must admit that I do see some value in trees. Not that I’d consider planting them in symetrical blocks a la Forestry Commission, but rather that they can provide some great habitat for all sorts of wildlife. The last thing I want is to… Continue reading
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The Hills Are Alive
After a beautiful spring day spent looking at a computer screen, I headed out for a long walk around the hill just as the sun was setting. Having heard the first snipe of the year on Saturday, I hoped to hear more drumming, and given that it had been a clear, still day, I felt… Continue reading
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Why So Shy?
My favourite blackcock has been behaving very strangely recently. Looking back at last year’s blog entries from February, I see that by the beginning of March, he was getting on for full lek. This year, he is being incredibly bashful and is only lekking under thick cover. The only time I’ve found him out in… Continue reading
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Time To Burn
We’re now getting into the prime heather burning season, but the last few days have been miserably wet and there seems to be no end in sight for the rain. I had a great day burning heather with a new moorland management project a few miles south of the Chayne, and I’ve been looking forward… Continue reading
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The Dancing Ermine
Throw away your camera – you’ll never take a better picture than this… Couldn’t resist posting this picture of an ermine which a friend found online and sent to me – I’ve seen my ferrets doing precisely the same sort of thing, and can imagine the same frantic hissing/honking sound. I feel quite conflicted about… Continue reading
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Spring Cleaning
What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon than cleaning and disinfecting some pen sections? With plans to do some grey partridge rearing this summer, I brought in my small handful of pen sections last week and let them dry in the sheds. They held red legs this autumn, and following an outbreak of hexamita,… 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 