36 SEPTEMBER 2019 WWW.SHOOTINGGAZETTE.CO.UK
Being used to wily black grouse chicks and the
front-footedbustle ofyoung curlews,it was hard to
drawa linebetweentrulywildand recentlyliberated.
Theyoungpheasantsfoughtandhuntedfortheirfood
likeprofessionals,andmyonlyregretwastheydidso
quitenoisily.It wouldnothavebeenhardfora passing
foxorstoatto havecottonedonto theirpresence,and
it wentto highlightthevalueof goodpredatorcontrol
toensurethesuccessof wildstocks.It oftenmademe
winceto seekitesandgullsstoppingaroundthemower
as I workedin thefields,andwhiletheywereprobably
bent on gathering up mice and small pipits, neither
wouldbaulkat thechanceof a youngpheasant.
Perhaps inevitably, the broods dwindled a little
beyondmidsummer.Wehad wetweatherbeforethe
youngbirdshadgoodfeatheringtoprotectthem.For
allI workedhardtocatchupwithfoxesandcrows,I
wasforcedto rememberyetagainthisis Gallowayand
predatorsreign.EveryfoxI managedto winkleoutwas
probablyreplacedbytwoothersfromthedarksecurity
of theforeststhatlieacrossmostof ourboundaries.
Furtheruponthehill,thegreypartridgesseemto
havehada lesspromisingsummer.Aftera moderately
good year in 2018, our hardy pairs looked set for
success.Themildwinterseemedto buoythemintothe
spring,butthentheyvanished.I founda fewfeathers
tosuggestfoxeshadplayeda part,butlifeis hard for
hillpartridgesin theSouthernUplands.
Many of their traditional strongholds depended
upona kindoffarmingnowhardto find.Whenmy
grandfathertookonourhillfarmin the1960shewas
producingoats,carrots,potatoesandhay.It wasparadise
for partridges,and they wereshot in goodnumbers.
Nowadays,theentirehillis a sheepfarmandtheground
is askedtodono morethanstaymoderatelydryand
turn out a little rough grass. It’s a unfair to expect
partridgesto holdtheline.
Ionlysawtwobroodsof wildpartridges,andonly
in smallnumbers.Septemberwillsoonbeuponus,but
alreadyI wonderif wewillmanageto shootpartridges
this year. Perhaps I am over-optimistic and should
abandontheattemptaltogether,butshootingis a crucial
threadof contact with wildgame birds. It is easyto
overlook the link between shooting folk and their
quarry, but for me it’s the beating heart of our sport.O
ur wildpheasantshavehada goodsummer.
Thehatchcameaftertheworstof therain,
andwefoundchicksin goodnumberswhen
therosesbloomedin June.Thatwashaymakingtime;
theweekswhichleadupto theRoyalHighlandShow.
I wasbentdoubleoverthetractor, sweating in the glare
ofsunshineanddriedgrass.
Oystercatchers trilled along the seashore and
shelducksgabbledin themudwithgangsof youngsters
at heel.I oftenfearforshelducks,whichlaytheireggsin
rabbitholes.Wehavelostalmostall of ourrabbitsover
thepast 10 years,andmostof thebestnestholeshave
been takenover by badgers.It’snot hard toimagine
howit wouldplayfora femaleshelduckbroodingher
eggs when old brock comes snooping around, but
somehowtheymanageto turnoutbatchesof black and
whitechickswithclockworkregularity.
It is easy to overlook thelink between shooting folk
and their quarry, but it’s the
beating heart of our sport.
On the hill
Reflections on the survival of birds in the
Southern Uplands. By Patrick Laurie.Nature finds a wayAndallthewhile,cluckinghenpheasantsemerged
from theundergrowthwiththeirbroodsandshowed
themoffshylyinthedustofdawn.Ourfarmusually
turns out a few good broods but it’s hard to tell
experienced wild birds from their recently released
brethren. Logic dictates that wild pheasants should
serve as better mothersthan those whichhave never
knownanythingbuttheglowofa heatbulband the
backing ofgrower pellets, but there’s no doubt that
naturefindsa way.
Our neighbouring shoot released a few pens of
Japanesegreenpheasantsforthefirsttimelastyearand
theyhavegivenmea goodideaof howthenewcomers
fare.Severalof thebeautifullymarkedhensturnedup
withgoodbroods,andit wentto showhowwelleven
thetamestbirdscandowitha bitof luck.I spentone
frustratingafternoononthebalerfollowingtheprogress
of a brood of youngsters as they hunted along the
margins through the vetch and meadowsweet.