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The Sky is Crying
Having acted as personal bodyguard to the blackcock and his greyhen over the past few months, I now have serious concerns that a disaster is on the horizon. I have stripped crows, stoats and foxes off the area where I know she is sitting, and I am now reasonably confident that if the greyhen’s eggs… Continue reading
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The Danger of Fences
Black grouse are some of the fastest British gamebirds. Their deceptively large size and bulky shape might make you think that these birds are the equivalent of a lumbering Avro Lancaster on the wing, but in truth, they can hit speeds of over 70mph, and they could probably fly even faster downwind if they didn’t… Continue reading
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Pine Martens?
When I recently claimed that stoats were my favourite British mammal, I made a mistake. Stoats certainly sit very highly on my list of favourites, but I forgot to include an even better beast in my calculations. I have never seen a pine marten in the flesh, but just knowing that they are out there… Continue reading
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Weather Warning
What with the most appalling bad weather over the past 24 hours, it is hardly surprising that some damage should have been caused. Driving onto the Chayne this afternoon, I spotted a beam of wood resting on the stones beneath the old bridge. Getting out of the car to investigate, I found that it was… Continue reading
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Indulgence
It’s been a few days since I published a picture of my favourite blackcock, so without further ado, I would like to present the photograph I took this evening while walking my trap line. How could anyone not love these birds? Continue reading
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Trial and Error with Larsens
With larsen trapping drawing to a seasonal close after seven weeks of operation, it’s worth pointing out that this year has been a really steep learning curve for me. Hill crows must be the wiliest devils in the animal kingdom, and although I have taken more than a dozen birds out this year, I must… Continue reading
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GWCT’s Snaring Accreditation Course
After almost eighteen months since beginning this blog, and two years since beginning my project on the Chayne, I have come at last to the inevitable subject of snaring. Having snared foxes on a low ground shoot almost five years ago, I knew some bits and pieces about the technicalities of setting and maintaining snares,… Continue reading
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A Torrent of Stoats
I wonder what is going on in the world of stoats at the moment? Every moor and farm has a different annual pattern of stoat and weasel behaviour, so it is impossible to predict what will happen and when. It seems like you just need to set the traps and learn from what happens. So… Continue reading
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When Will Enough Be Enough?
It would be boring to turn this blog solely into a series of articles which bash buzzards – it is patently obvious that something needs to be done about these birds as soon as possible, but before I sign off on them for now, it is worth including two photographs that I took this morning… Continue reading
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Fair Game? Scotland’s Sporting Estates
After a great deal of controversy and anticipation, BBC Scotland broadcast it’s programme on raptor persecution on Monday night. The documentary is now available to watch on iPlayer (by clicking HERE), and I saw it last night with a certain sense of forboding. Contrary to expectations, it was not all bad. Despite the fact that… 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 