Innholdsfortegnelse for 07-Apr-2021 i Shooting Times & Country

Rodenticides may be driving declines in kestrels. Scientists from the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, and Science & Advice for Scottish Agriculture tested the livers of kestrels found dead. Traces of rodent poisons were found in 161 of the 241 kestrels tested. Importantly, the scientists found that older birds had higher levels of the poison in their livers than younger birds, suggesting that the amount of poison in the birds’ bodies increased over time. They also found that areas where large amounts of poison were used had fewer kestrels than areas where less poison was used. Between 1978 and 2018 the number of kestrels in the UK nearly halved. While the study did not provide definitive evidence that rodenticides were driving declines, it did…

Collaboration between landowners, gamekeepers and raptor groups has led to another successful breeding season for birds of prey in the Peak District. The Peak District Bird of Prey Initiative found that in 2020 the Peak District’s peregrine falcons had their best year in a decade. All six known nesting attempts were successful, resulting in a record 14 fledged young. Goshawks also did well, with seven of the nine known nests successful and 16 or 17 young fledged. Other species still gave cause for concern, however. Merlins remain at low levels with only 16 nests recorded, though more than 50 chicks were fledged. Short-eared owls and hen harriers were not recorded breeding at all in the Peak District in 2020. Sarah Fowler, chief executive of the Peak District National Park, said:…

Hell’s teeth but I’ve listened to a lot of Woman’s Hour during the past six weeks. While it was jolly interesting and often illuminating, I’d have preferred to tune into something on, say, giant squid or fortitude in an Anglo-Saxon shield wall. But the dear old Jimny’s radio is permanently set to Radio 4, which means plenty of female insights on my 10am runs to try to find the beastly pigeons. There’s been a dearth locally for much of the year, hardly surprising since we’d emptied their larder. Many farmers have given up growing oilseed rape after neonicotinoid pesticides were banned, exposing the crop to the ceaseless chomping of the cabbage stem flea beetle. The game crops were limited due to the COVID-19 curtailment of the shooting season, and even…

GALLOWAY IS A deerstalker’s paradise. Famous herds of red deer patrol across the high ground, while goats trek busily through the scree and heather below. Pockets of fallow deer add a spice of variety here and there, and roe run rampant through the whole county from Dumfries to Stranraer. South-west Scotland is a broad and diverse piece of countryside and roe can be found everywhere from the richest riverside meadow to the steepest moorland plantations at every altitude. It’s no surprise that people come from across the country to stalk in Galloway and we deserve to be proud of our deer. While our red deer stags often top the list as the biggest and best hill beasts in Britain, you don’t often see Galloway roebucks enjoying similar celebrity. As a…

The pursuit of precision is a big deal when it comes to airgun shooting. Because air rifles have a relatively low power output, it is vital to be confident of landing your pellet in exactly the right place if you intend to shoot live quarry. Backyard plinkers will also be able to enjoy the thrill of toppling tins more frequently, and at greater ranges, by following a few simple steps to improve accuracy. Newcomers to the sport can usually gain from making some basic tweaks to their set-up or technique and it is surprising how many seasoned Shots aren’t getting it quite right with their air rifles. Frequent practice always plays a key role because nothing beats being familiar with your equipment and its nuances. But there are a few…

As lockdowns are eased across the country and COVID-19 case rates continue to decline, outdoor shooting activities have begun again. A calendar of shooting events looks set to go ahead. Outdoor shooting — including clay shooting and target rifle — began again in England on 30 March with strict social distancing rules and careful hygiene protocols being put in place at shooting grounds. Among those keen to get out and go again was Shooting Times reader Laura Boswell. “I am booked in for Friday,” she said. “Where I work isn’t far from my local ground and all I can hear is guns going off – it’s not fair!” Maxine Smiles Cooke, manager of the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club, which promotes ladies shooting, was also full of enthusiasm. “There is…

The Scottish Green Party has been accused by Scottish Gamekeepers Association chair Alex Hogg of “trying to dupe voters on the basis of inaccurate information”. In a flyer, Maggie Chapman, who is running for the Green Party in the north-east of Scotland, claimed that grouse moors “employ fewer than 3,000 people across Scotland, paying on average less than minimum wage, while occupying up to a fifth of our country’s land”. Gamekeepers were quick to point out that recent research by the Scottish government showed that a maximum of one-tenth of Scotland is used for grouse shooting and that the true figure is probably lower. They also pointed out that grouse shooting supports 2,500 full-time Scottish jobs, creating more per hectare employment than forestry and woodland schemes, which also require more…

Should the job title ‘gamekeeper’ be phased out in favour of ‘conservation manager’? Some of you may snort in disgust at the very idea, thinking it political correctness gone mad. Others might say it’s a more appropriate description in an age when the word ‘gamekeeper’ is too easily tarnished with Victorian imagery and attitudes. We can argue about such things, but that in itself proves one thing: words matter. Our choice of words can be tribal. It can be used to show solidarity, or for virtue signalling. For example, the antis label hunting activities ‘bloodsports’. Clearly, this is a prejudicial term. It has campaigning connotations and is more often used to describe shooting and hunting than fishing or falconry for that very reason. The antis relish using it to lump…

Once upon a time there was a bird called an ogridge. It was the invention of the now long gone Ormsby Game Services, of Louth in Lincolnshire. A hybrid between a redleg cock and a chukar hen, it was proclaimed as the partridge of the future. These two species of Alectoris are so close genetically that they are interfertile, and at first glance the offspring look so much like a pure redleg that you would hardly notice the difference. In the 1960s and early 1970s, when the idea of rearing and releasing red-legged partridges in much the same way as pheasants was relatively new, producers hit on a problem. Unlike first-year pheasants and grey partridges, young redleg hens do not lay many eggs. A dozen per hen was considered good,…

While waiting for the latest incarnation of the Nissan Navara to turn up, I couldn’t help thinking it’s a shame that it may well be the last. Apparently, we will be losing the Navara from the 4x4 menu, so let’s crack on and see if it’s worth snapping one up a bit sharpish or paying close attention the second hand market in due course. We’re putting the Navara N-Guard through its paces. It has a slightly higher spec flavour to it and, on first impressions, it looks like a proper workhorse with a hint of style. For a pickup truck, it’s relatively easy on the eye. The Navara’s original silhouette has been beefed up and the edges softened and sculpted a little. The grey paintwork and black 18in wheels look…

My clicker had packed up and I was starting to feel tired. It had been a busy day but as soon as I thought I was going to get a bit of a rest, we were off again. A small group arrived and I managed to nobble two out of the five. The other three turned away but one pigeon peeled back enough for a shot. Both barrels and not a feather; it was time for a break. I went and had a quick clear-up, got back in the hide and poured a cup of tea from my flask. I looked across the flailed maize, with dead birds everywhere, and the vast field beyond it and asked myself how I ended up here. I hadn’t really been focusing on flailed…

You have to be quick. If you spot a pigeon feeding on a field freshly drilled with beans, go now, for tomorrow it will be too late. The pigeon is not a digger for seeds like a rook: it prefers to scoop up the grains left lying on, rather than under, the crumbs of soil. A flock of pigeons on a drill might well cast some doubt on the ability of the farm worker who put in the seed, or upon the amount of preparation of the seed bed, upon the frost the land had received, or upon the heaviness of the ground. Light soils are easier to drill well than heavier land; on the latter the crumbs might well be the size of walnuts. When a field in this…

Gamekeepers and moorland managers have warned of the threat of wildfires as they prepare for an influx of postlockdown visitors. Despite restrictions remaining in place, the first major wildfires of the spring have been reported. One of the areas to have been affected was the National Trust-owned Marsden Moor in Yorkshire. Local firefighters equipped with leaf blowers and a Polaris-mounted fogging unit were able to control and eventually extinguish the blaze. Meanwhile, in an event that brought back memories of the enormous wildfire of February 2019, firefighters were also deployed to tackle a blaze on Saddleworth Moor. That fire took seven fire brigades nearly 10 days to extinguish. In England, the regional moorland groups launched a social media campaign to emphasise the importance of people’s behaviour when visiting the uplands.…

“Grey squirrels are ecological enemy number one” Is there a more vilified woodland animal than the grey squirrel? Even Chris Packham calls them Britain’s “most unpopular non-native invader”. They are rightly accused of killing saplings and pilfering the eggs of songbirds. But it is their effect on our native red squirrels that has captured the public’s imagination and turned them into ecological enemy number one. Introduced in the 1870s as exotic pets from the US, they have adapted and spread to most corners of our island, with notably few exceptions. In 150 years their numbers have swelled from a handful of pairs to 2.7million. Their larger size and garrulous attitude means they outcompete red squirrels for both food and territory. More devastating, they are carriers of disease, particularly squirrel pox.…

At first glance, buying an ex-layer for £2.50 appears to be excellent value for money when compared with buying in a seven-week-old pheasant poult at £4. But there are, of course, huge differences between the two and there is a reason why one is almost double the price of the other. There has been so much debate about it over the years, with opinion divided between those who think ex-layers are a waste of time and money, and their fans who see them as a cheap alternative to poults. I have a foot in both camps, as we release poults on the main shoot and our ex-layers on the ground where we have our smaller days. There are several reasons for releasing them in different areas, not least the fact…

ONE OF MY REGRETS is never having met David Hancock, who died last month at the age of 87. A contributor to Shooting Times over many years, Col Hancock MBE was one of those rare people with a broad interest and tremendous knowledge of all things canine. He wrote with as much authority about gundogs as he did about terriers and sighthounds, or indeed any other sort of dog, though he did prefer those that were bred for a purpose. He published more than 700 articles, along with numerous books. His most recent works were a terrific quartet on sporting dogs for The Crowood Press: Sporting Terriers (2012), Sighthounds (2012), Gundogs (2013) and Hounds — Hunting by Scent (2014). All, I’m pleased to note, remain in print today. Eight years…

Make most of rook flavours GAMECOOKING Q How should we prepare rook for cooking? Do you have any suggestions for recipes we could try? We are a bit sick of the traditional rook pie. A I am a fan of eating rook — and jackdaws — but I do not limit this only to branchers in the spring. I used to live by a dairy farm or two before I moved to Scotland and every spring I would decoy rooks and jackdaws over the freshly cut silage fields as they came to forage for the crippled insect life left behind by the mower and forager. I suggest that you divide the shot birds by age, then pluck and roast the branchers a little like whole young pigeon. The older ones…