The early bird
As always, Rupert Butler is up with the larks – and this particular morning he is out in his high
seat in order to carry out some crucial pest control
A
s dawn breaks over the surrounding
countryside, the view from my high seat is
reward enough for having to leave the warmth of
my duvet at such an ungodly hour. Little by little,
the majestic Galtee mountains rise out of the mist
in front, reaching for the sky and almost mythical
in appearance.
Without warning, the harsh tones of a grey
crow somewhere nearby has me scanning the
skies for the merest flicker of movement, while
sinking ever lower behind some netting I have
quickly thrown on the handrail in front. He lands
on top of an old Cyprus tree a hundred yards
away before scanning the surrounds, suspicious
yet intrigued. He knows there is something
wrong about his plastic friends that are scattered
around a dead rabbit in the field in front, but if I
keep absolutely still, his curiosity will get the
better of him.
For a few minutes, which in the position I’m in
feels like an hour, we play the waiting game until
eventually he swoops down to have a closer look.
I take my opportunity just as he realises the error
of his ways, before placing him among his plasticfriends to give my set-up a more realistic appeal.
Over the course of the next hour, I manage to
shoot four more, together with a couple of
magpies – not a massive bag considering my
early start, but rewarding none the less. From
previous experience, I know that waiting any
longer is counterproductive as birds have moved
from their roosts by now and, apart from the odd
straggler, I would be wasting my time.
Some of last year’s mallard have stayed in the
vicinity, a couple of which have had broods on our
main pond, so I go down to feed all the ponds in
the hope that these birds will supplement our new
ones which will be arriving shortly. Trying to hold
onto birds from the previous year can work both
ways; you are obviously increasing the number of
birds present, but you are also running the risk of
the older ones showing the newcomers
where to escape to on shoot days.
Because our shoot is but a small
one, I am of the opinion that all
birds in the vicinity, whether old
or new, should be encouraged
to stay around.A friend of mine, who was out sea fishing
yesterday, has kindly donated some mackerel for
my mink traps, all of which I check and reset.
Apart from a couple of rats, I haven’t caught any
for a while, which is reassuring. This said, we
seem to get quiet periods like this for months on
end, and just when you think everything is under
control, a marauding dog mink will cause untold
damage. I find that it is nearly impossible to catch
them once our young ducks have arrived, the
draw of live birds being far more appealing than
any old cage, no matter what bait you put inside.
While walking around, I’m pleased by the
amount of small birds we have on the farm due to
the diversity of habitats present, something that
many of those who are not of a shooting
persuasion don’t realise. Not only are we
providing a safer environment by removing
unwanted predators but the
introduction of bird crops provides
many of our finches and other
species with a food source
during the winter months. Often
as one walks through theseNOTES FROM
IRELAND WITH RUPERT BUTLER
If you’re running
your own rough shoot,
there’s a lot of work to be done
at this time of year to encourage
quarry species onto your land –
but it will all be worth it when
the season comes
around!PICTURE:
RUPERT BUTLER