Having written about rearing grey partridges in a recent edition of Shooting Times (Making hens meet, 28 April), I can’t ignore a similar project that took place soon after that based around black grouse.
Everybody is aware that black grouse are sorely declining and this once common bird has become little more than a rumour in many parts of the UK. There was a time when these birds were well known to gamekeepers and shooting folk, but a catastrophic collapse over the past century has reduced them to a marginal figure in the sporting world.
It’s still legal to shoot them, but they are killed in tiny numbers on a handful of estates where there are enough to sustain a small harvest.
When black grouse first started to collapse, observers often wondered if their populations could be shored up by artificial releases. The Victorians brought thousands of black grouse eggs from Scandinavia to support British populations and there was a steady traffic of black grouse eggs around the UK into the 21st century.
Frustratingly, the birds were still so common that they were deemed rather boring to the mainstream sporting press. Nobody thought to record these projects for the sake of public interest, but I’ve seen letters and diaries to show that dozens of black grouse reintroduction projects took place before World War II.
However, there is almost no evidence to show how successful these projects were. I feel sure that some worked, but subsequent black grouse have been driven out by massive and accelerating habitat change. It’s hard to gauge the success of reintroduction projects when birds were later driven out by other factors.
“A catastrophic collapse has reduced them to a marginal figure in the sporting world”
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Denne historien er fra May 26, 2021-utgaven av Shooting Times & Country.
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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