Over the next month or so, I shall be helping to lead a couple of GWCT to shoot walks each week. These are wonderful evening outings with great people who love shooting and the countryside.
Our generous hosts will normally have gone to some trouble to organize things as they expose themselves and their ground to the critical gaze of a gang of GWCT members and their guests.
One of the things that almost invariably happens is a last-minute tidy-up of the venue. If this involves recycling some scrap that should have gone ages ago, all well and good, but too often it goes too far, also resulting in heavy-handed use of the strimmer to clear away ‘unsightly’ weeds and rough grass.
Sadly, this can easily expose the carefully hidden nest of a pheasant, partridge, or duck and, even if the bird does not desert because of the disturbance, its chance of successfully hatching before some predator or other spots is very low.
Natural seasons
Our native wildlife is beautifully adapted to take advantage of the annual cycle of weather and growth that our position on the globe dictates. Grey partridges, for example, generally choose nest sites in dead grass and start to lay around the beginning of May, when new spring growth will rapidly help to hide a nest. This results in a peak of hatching around the longest day when the world has warmed up and the countryside is full of soft, squishy insect larvae for chicks to feed on.
Denne historien er fra June 09, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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Denne historien er fra June 09, 2021-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.
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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