Shooting Times & Country – 21 August 2019

46 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

Paul‘Hardy’Hardcastle’s passionforwildlifeproduces

standoutbiodiversityon an English partridge manor

P

aul‘Hardy’Hardcastlehasbeen

thesolekeeperatBenningham

HallnearEye,inSuffolk, for the

past 15 years.

A born-and-bredlocallad,hestartedin

theprofessionaged 17 atCrow’sHall,near

DebenhaminSuffolk,thenworkedas an

underkeeperatLittleGlemham.

TheBenninghamHallshootisan

Englishpartridgemanoroftheoldschool.

UnderHardy’scarefulmanagement,grey

partridgesthrive,wildpheasantsabound

andareascunningastheyarestrongon

thewing.Thewholeestateisa havenfor

wildlifeandistestimonytohismanagement

andethosasa countryman.

PatrickBarker,theFarmingandWildlife

AdvisoryGroup(FWAG)SilverLapwing

award-winningfarmer,said:“Hardyisthe

finestgamekeepernaturalistI havemet.”

SomyfirstquestiontoHardywaswhat

doesit taketobea naturalistgamekeeper?

“Youhavetohaveanunderstanding

boss,”heanswered.“Theyhavetobeas

passionateaboutwildlifeasyouare.I have

thathereandI amalwayspleasedwhen

thebosstellsmehehasseenthebarnowls

huntingorhowmanyyellowhammershe

hasspotted.Youhavetobepreparedto

acceptthatthoughyoumayworkhardfor

365 daysa year,allthatgraftisjudgedby

thepayingGunsonthe 10 to 15 days on

whichyouareshooting.

BenninghamHall’sbiodiversityishighly

regardedbyconservationistsbutit has

taken a lot of hard work to achieve.

moreloyalthanFrenchpartridges,”Hardy

continued.“It’strueyoucannothavebig-

bagdays.TheGunsmayhavea coveyof

50 swingoverthem,buttheygosoquickly

thata teamof 10 would do well to shoot

abraceoutofit.

“Greystakelessdisturbance,though

—youcan’tshootthem every week.”

Daysvsbags

BenninghamHallsellsdaysratherthan

a bag,andI wasintriguedtofindoutwhy.

“AverygoodteamofGunsmightshoot

100 here,”explainedHardy.“Aslongas

theypicksportingbirds,wewillshoot

throughtodusk.If Gunsstartshooting

lowbirds,I stopthedrive.

“Thesecrettoconnectingsuccessfully

withgreysistobereadythesecondyou

arriveatyourpeg.Don’tbedistracted by

anythingoryou’llmissthem.”

Hardy’spassionforallwildlifeis

phenomenal—hehasa residentperegrine

tiercelofwhichheisveryfond.Hisadvice

tokeepersregardingraptorsisadmirable

andpractical.“Don’tworryaboutraptors.

If youhavethemonyourland,maintain

yourwildlifehabitatsandputdownanother

50 birds—thatwillgivethemsomething

toeatandyoucangetto sleep at night

withoutworrying.”

Hardyisa fascinatingmanandhis

encyclopaedicknowledgeofbirdsis

gleanedthrougha lifeinthefield.I closed

ourconversationbyaskinghimwhathe

woulddoif hewasn’ta gamekeeper.His

response?“Buildmore nest boxes.” That

sums up Hardy.

Richard Negus

“ThefirstthingI noticedwhenI started

wasjusthowlittlewildlifetherewas,”said

Hardy.“Isetaboutcreatinghabitats,dug

outalltheexistingponds,thencreated

more—therearenowwetlandareasin

everyfield.I thengotridofallthemaize

andputinbirdseedmixes,grassandfloral

margins.I plantednewhedgingandlaidthe

oldstragglystuff.I putupmorethan 100

titboxesandsevenbarnowlboxes.

“OnceI startedseeingotherwildlife

thrive,I knewthatthewildbroodsofgreys

andpheasantswoulddoso,too,”headded.

Manypeoplebelievethatgrey

partridgescannotbea commercialbird.

However,BenninghamHallbreakseven,

andI wasfascinated to learn why so many

ofusarewrong.

“Alotofkeepersthinkthatgreysare

liketheyusedtobe 30 yearsago,but

moderngreyshavebecomemore

domesticated. Personally, I fi nd them

eeper of the m

Hardyhascreated

habitats,dugponds

and planted hedging

Celebrating the custodians of our countryside

Whenshootinggreys,

bereadyassoonas

you reach your peg

TAYLORMADE PHOTOGRAPHY