It's light work on the foxes

Simon Garnham breaks out the rifle and goes in search of Reynard when he discovers a telltale pile of pheasant feathers

- Simon Garnham

My grey partridges have been a pleasure this summer. Unlike their red-legged counterparts of previous years, they’ve been placid and calm. When I’ve introduced new birds to a pen, they’ve reacted well. I’ve lost none.

Now it’s time to start trickling them into the fields and they continue to be easy to manage. On day one, I saw a covey on a neighbour’s land and I thought that the naysayers’ predictions had come to pass — grey partridges stray quickly and never come back.

But at the pens the following morning, the new releases were nearby — within 50m — calling to the birds left safely inside the netting. The covey I saw must have been a welcome wild pack. My own releases are proving to be loyal and goodnatured charges, drinking very little water and exploring contentedly, happily chasing insects, scratching at straw and calling from the top of bales with their characteristic tail flick.

My ducks, too, are where I want them — firmly on the reservoir. A late brood of wild mallard has swelled the numbers and, together, they seem to be establishing a healthy wariness. I want them wild, but not too wild at this stage of their development — nearby and learning to fly, without wandering into trouble.

Cunning adversary

The only problematic wards are my pheasant poults, who seem to think that they’re students on a field trip. They’re determined to find every way to get lost or into difficulty.