Grey partridges are enjoying the lack of traffic in the countryside
I write this at a time of uncertainty and trepidation for all. COVID-19 has utterly changed our lives in a few short weeks. What the ramifications will be, both financial and physical, in the medium to long-term are topics of much concern and speculation.
Those of us who live and work in the countryside should thank our lucky stars, for we are truly blessed. We fortunate few have not had to endure the tedium of four walls and 24-hour television suffered by those locked down in city tower blocks.
Our exercise is not one of an hour spent tripping around an urban park like social-distancing hamsters on a wheel. I drive my truck the few miles to Flea Barn and there I have worked and continue to work in my solitary world. My interactions are with my dog and the birds and beasts that live here. My only human companionship is provided by Flea Barn’s owner, Ed Nesling, as he passes by in his tractor or as a distant, cogitating form, walking his crops or looking for the grey partridges that have become an all-absorbing obsession of late.
Safe territory
For those of us who are working conservationists there are already obvious signs that the virus is having an impact on wildlife. Within a week I noted that the absence of road traffic was having an effect. Roe and muntjac were to be seen feeding nearer the road edge and at times of the day when they would more usually have been in cover. As the traffic continued to decline, the paired-up partridges, grey or French, had taken to treating roadside verges as safe territory. Roadkill was becoming a rare sight.
“Within a week I noted that the absence of road traffic was having an effect”
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra April 22, 2020-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside