WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK 81
Blackgamewasoncea prizedquarryof
themoorlandedge.Fores’ssportingnotes
& sketchesof 1898 depictsa holygrailof
sportingexperience:“Afteryouhavegone
outandkilledyour 15 brace,fedundera
shelteringbirchtreeand‘flasked’atthe
purlingmountainstream, you havegot
rightdownthecard,and there’s nothing
leftforyoutodo.”
This probably describes the popular
pursuit of shooting black grouse with
a pairof gunsanda couple ofbeaters
toflushthem.Toachievea larger-scale
drive,flightlines to feeding grounds on
stubblesorbirchtreeswerelocatedand
thebirdskeptoffthesein themorning,
sotheywerelikelytoreturn.Gunsoften
had to crawl into position, find hiding
placesandrefrainfromtakinga shotuntil
thewily birds reachedthe line, orrisk
spookingthem.InhisbookGrouseland
andthefringeofthemoor(1937), Lord
GeorgeScottwrites,“Whenflushed,the
blackcockscomeover ina black mass,
if down-wind, at an appalling speed,
sometimesveryhigh.”
Up to the mid-19th century, leks or
mating display grounds could still be
foundin almost everycounty inWales
andEngland,includingMiddlesex.Scot-
tishmoorssawthebiggestentriesinthe
game books with annual returns of morethan 1,500 regularly recorded on the
Drumlanrigestate.Buttherecordbagwas
intheEnglishMidlandsatCannockChase
inStaffordshire,where 252 wereshoton
onedayin1869.Aswellasbeingvalued
for sport they also made good eating,
andMrsBeeton,writingin1861,includes a
recipeforroastblackcockontoast.
Rangeswerealreadycontractinginthe
Victorian period and populationsbegan
to decline rapidly afterWorld War One
andcollapsedafterWorldWarTwo due
toa mixofdisturbance,modernagricul-
turalpracticeandlackofkeepering.Small
pocketsheldonintheNewForestuntilthe
1930sandonDartmoorandExmooruntil
1980s.Today,remnantsofthegamebird’s
wide cultural influence can be seen in
Englishpubnames,suchasTheMoorcock
andTheGockettortheglengarriesofThe
RoyalRegimentofScotland,whichmain-
tainthetraditionofwearingblackcock tail
feathersaspartofHighlandDress.
Blackgameremainonthequarrylist,
withanopenseasonfrom 20 Augustto
10 December,buttheshootingcommu-
nity observes a voluntary moratorium.
TheyarenolongershotatWilliamston
and the estate well illustrates why the
survivalofthisbeautifulbirddependson
drivengrouseshooting continuing with-
out restriction.S PORTI NG H E RITAG E
Grouse shooting brings in 23% but only
breakseven,andincomefromthesheepis
negligible.Gilliskeentostresstheinterde-
pendenceofalltheseelements:“Historically,
Williamstonsustainedfourfarmsteads;now,
it isfarmed by one person, part time for
wildlife.Thefarmingandshootingemploy
the farm manager/gamekeeper, who cre-
atestherighthabitat,whichinturnattracts
tourists to the accommodation. Take one
awayandtherestwillstruggle.Weredriven
grouseshootingtobecomelegislatedoutof
existence,we’dbeforcedtograzeallyear
round.Theblack grouseandall theother
birdswouldsadlydisappear.”Inadditionto
biodiversity,this economicmodeldelivers
a rangeofpublicgoods, includingcarbon
capturethroughpeatandheathermanage-
ment,reducingwildfireandfloodrisk,and
maintainingheritagebarnsandstonewalls.
Looking to the future, Gill hopes the
threehectaresofscrubwoodland,whichhe
recentlyplantedwitha mix of1,500 birch,
hawthorn, rowan, willow and alder, will
provide winter food and cover for black
grouse.The plantation istucked underthe
hillnexttoa burnshelteredfromtheworst
oftheweatherandheplantedthetreesby
hand.Hesaid,“Wewereapplyingforthenew
agreementandI saidtomyNaturalEngland
advisorwhydon’twedosomethingextrafor
blackgame?SoI cameupwitha plantingplan
followingGWCTguidelinestocreate the kind
ofscrubbywoodlandtheylove.”
Gill’spassionforconservationingeneral
andblackgrouseinparticularis clearandhis
strongsenseofstewardshipandwillingness
togotheextramileunderlieshissuccess.“As
farasI’mconcernedI’mjustthetemporary
custodianofthisplace.For 300 yearsevery
generation’sdonetheirbitandmyaimis to
pass it on in better shape than I found it.”