Shooting Times & Country – 21 August 2019

12 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE ALAMY

Country Diary

Turnipsarerecommendedforpheasantsandpartridgesand,asthe

tops push up through the ground, they bring some surprising benefi ts

I

amobsessedbythelinkbetween

farmingandwildlife.WhenI first

wentintofarmingseveralyears

ago,I wantedtousehillcattleto

improvemoorlandhabitatsforgrouse

andwaders.I wasa shootingman

throughandthrough;mylivestock

wasa meanstoanend.

Thenmyinterestgrewtosoilsand

arablefarming,foodproductionand

theconstantpresenceofhumanbeings

aspartofa relationshipwiththeland.

Despitealmost 10 yearsinthislineof

work,I amstillverynearthestartofit

— I learnmorewitheverypassingday.

Fiddlingwithsomeaspectsofold-

fashionedagriculture,I grewa couple

ofacresofturnipsthissummer.An

oldfarmworkerreliablyinformedme

thatthebestcropforpheasantsand

partridgesis turnips,grownindrills

astheywereinthe1960s.Thisseemed

hardtoimaginebutI tookhimat his

wordandbegantomakeprogress

inthatdirection.Turnipsmakean

excellentwinterfeedforcattle,so

it seemedlikea sensible experiment

topickupandtry.

ThecropwassowninMayandI

stoodbackandwatchedmyturnips

grow.It washardtoimaginehowthe

fieldwouldeverdeliverforwildlife

aspromised,butit wasfuntohoethe

rowsandflickawaythefirstofthe

weedsbeneatha racketofswallows

andsandmartins.It wasonlywhenthe

turnipsbegantogrowthickandstrong

thata changecameoverthefield.

Suddenlytherewerehares.

Thisis typicalgrasslandcountry

andtherearealwaysa fewhares

wherethegroundis broadandlevel.

However,theyneverseemtocome

upintotherougherfieldsaroundthe

house,particularlynotontheground

whereI hadsowntheturnips.

Butallofa sudden,therewerehares

inthatturnipfield.Theyroseupand

clatteredawaythroughthecropas

I workedonit;theywerea noveltyat

firstbutthenI begantowonderwhere

onearththeywerecomingfrom.One

afternoon I saw fi ve hares, then I was

seemedtoappreciatethecropasthe

turnipsswelledandbegantoshow

linesofpurpletopsintherain.

FurtherintoJuly,it wasexcitingto

findthattheturnipsdrewina wealth

ofsmallbirds;linnetsandbuntingsand

ahostofgorgeousyellowhammers.

Amongtheroots,I foundthreebroods

ofwildpheasantsasI tinkeredand

scarifiedthecrop.Theyseemedto

liketherows,whichallowedthem

toscuttlearoundwithoutbeingseen.

OneeveningI heardwildgrey

partridgesskirlingontheedgeof

darkness.Theyaretooslimand

sparsetobouncebackintoprosperity

ina singleyear.Butit wasa timely

reminderofhowthecountrysidemust

havelookedandfeltinthedayswhen

turnipfieldslayina patchworkof

cerealsandhaymeadowsacrossthe

lengthandbreadthofGalloway.

It is nosurprisethatwehaveseen

sucha declineinourfarmlandwildlife

andournativegame.Thisturnip

experimenthasgivenmesomething

tobuildon,andwhatis good for hares

is also good for me.

bowledoverbythediscoveryofa nest

ofleveretslyingbeneath the thick,

drippyshaws.

Thethreetinyyoungstersoccupied

aspacenobiggerthanbothofmy

handscuppedtogether,andallthey

coulddowasblinkasI gapedat them.

Thiswasa thrillbeyondallreckoning,

butthenI wasdazzledagainto

discovera secondclusterofleverets

withina week— thistimea foursome.

Sotheturnipsreallydidpull

theirweight.It washardtoimagine

thata singlesmallfieldofarable

croppingcouldchangethefortunes

ofanentirepopulationofhares.The

realityis probablythatI hadsimply

giventhelocalharesa pointoffocus

andsomewheretoconcentrate their

breedingefforts.

Atthesametime,it alsoseemed

tobea goodsummerforharesmore

generallyonthehillandintherushy

marginsbetweenthehouseandthe

moor.I can’tclaimcreditfortheboom,

but there is no denying that they

The crop of turnips provide a home for hares and their leverets as well as holding wild game birds

PatrickLauriemanagesa

conservationprogrammetopromote

farmingandconservationwitha

particularfocusonwadingbirdsand

blackgrouse,andherunsa farm

inGalloway.

Patrick Laurie

“It was a thrill and

I was dazzled to

discover a second

cluster of leverets

within a week”