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Disaster
Owing to a communication breakdown last week, a digger was sent through the greyhen’s nest at precisely the wrong moment. I could hold forth for hours on the fury and disappointment I felt when I saw that she had been put off her nest, but the fact is that it’s too late to whine about… Continue reading
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Seasonal Costume
The ferrets continue to go from strength to strength. The glorious days of deep winter ferreting came to an end in Feburary, and the little bailiffs were put into temporary retirement, stretching in their straw beds and dreaming of the day when they can return to business, evicting squatters and dealing out rough justice. Their… Continue reading
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Tracking Cuckoos
I don’t make a habit of linking to other websites, but I must admit that I have been enjoying the BTO’s Observations of a sample of five cuckoos which were radio tagged in Norfolk last week. The five birds are plotted daily on an interactive map, and it looks like we have finally found a… Continue reading
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Candling
It’s been four days since my pheasant eggs went into the incubator, but already things have not been going according to plan. A power disturbance during the first three hours of the incubation process seems to have temporarily upped the voltage, subjecting the eggs to 40 degree Celsius conditions for around two hours. Although I… Continue reading
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The First of This Year’s Wheatears
Just thought that it would be worth mentioning that I spotted the first wheatear chicks up and about two days ago. I only just managed to take this photograph of one of the three chicks before it vanished into the long grass this evening on the way down from the hill. It’s funny that, like… Continue reading
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Thank You
After running this blog for almost eighteen months, my “site visitor statistics” counter tells me that a scarily large number of people are regularly visiting Working for Grouse. Thousands of people pass through the site every month, and although I can’t imagine why, many visitors return again and again. I’m delighted that so many people… Continue reading
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Into the Incubator
Having come across two dozen pheasant eggs on Friday, the time came yesterday to put them into the incubator. I may well look like a fool for admitting it, but I had no idea that eggs retain their fertility and hatching potential for up to three weeks after they are laid. I had always thought… Continue reading
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Summer Fishing
Tiny brownies plopped back and forth in the flat calm waters of the loch below the Chayne, and I cast my lumbering wet mayfly nymph into the water without much hope. I am a lazy fisherman. If the fish aren’t taking the fly I have on, I have a cigarette and lie outstretched on the… Continue reading
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The Big Experiment (on a small scale)
If you’re not careful, shooting and countrysports can take over your life. As a freelance journalist and writer, I am lucky that I have the freedom to shoot, fish and spend time in the countryside whenever I want, and turning my hobbies into my work has meant that almost everything I do is related in… Continue reading
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When the Lights Go Out
Lamping in the summer has to be one of the best parts of my project so far. I’m not a mad keen lamping enthusiast like some gamekeepers, but I do like the chance to look at the farm after dark when a different selection of birds and mammals takes to the stage. I’ve recently been… 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 