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Bringing down the snipe eater
Five days have passed since I declared war on the fox responsible for killing a snipe. The grudge match did not last long. Lamping doesn’t really seem to be working on the Chayne. There is no cover on the farm, so foxes are spotted at ranges of six and seven hundred yards, well beyond the… Continue reading
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Gardening time
There is a fine line between being a wild shoot keeper and a gardener. If I had known that my decision to build the Chayne into a natural haven for wild birds and mammals would result in my house being filled with seed trays and plant hormones, I would maybe have thought twice. My day… Continue reading
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Snipe or Woodcock?
Clearing a ride through the woodcock strip, I reached a wet area of ground. The pine trees were planted on raised furrows, and the area between the high mounds is flooded for a twenty yard long section in the middle of the wood. Not wanting to waste an opportunity to encourage wading birds, I began… Continue reading
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And plovers too…
When I first started to look into improving the land at the Chayne, I only had an eye out for the grouse. The more time I have spent on the hill, the more potential I see for reverting the farm to its original and ecologically fascinating state. First I found out that there were still… Continue reading
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Juniper under the hammer
Auctions are wonderful things. The slightest nod or twitch can make the difference between buying and not, and the excitement of fighting off your fellow bidders brings out the competitive child in me. There was a plant auction at Wallet’s Marts in Castle Douglas yesterday, and I was in the front row, even though most… Continue reading
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The Bat Palace Mk.I : an experiment in biodiversity
I love bats. Nothing is better than lying out in a wood on a clear summer night and watching them flit delicately between the branches overhead. When I found out that we have almost a dozen different species of bat in Scotland, I was amazed. Most people have heard the word “pipistrelle” and know that… Continue reading
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A New Enemy
We have got another trouble maker. A fox lives somewhere in the woodcock strip and he has been making his presence felt over the past few days. First, he stole a rabbit leg from a fencepost above the Multi Larsen Trap while I was building a fence a few hundred yards away. Most galling of… Continue reading
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Light at the end of the tunnel for bilberry
The more I brash in the pine strip, the more satisfied I am that what I am doing is right. I don’t really know much about woodcock behaviour or diet and my attempt to clear a path through the strip was more basic common sense than a genuine attempt to improve habitat. As I have… Continue reading
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Setting the Multi Larsen trap
Having found a good site for my Multi Larsen trap and left it to acclimatise for a few days, the next step is to catch a call bird. I have learned from bitter experience how potentially difficult this first stage can be, so I have been calling on every piece of advice to carry it… Continue reading
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Turning the tables on a bully
Foxes must be on the farm all the time. The sheep get so accustomed to seeing those trotting red shapes that they scarcely even acknowledge them. However, things are changing. The sheep on the Chayne were scanned for pregnancies last week and they are becoming noticeably more confrontational as the lambing season approaches. Walking back… 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 