June 21st, 2013

Two weeks of glorious sunny weather and everybody is much cheerier  after such a long spring with cold easterly winds lasting weeks on end. The lads on the grouse moors should be very happy. I have just received an email from the Forestry Commission asking for permission to investigate the presence of phytophthora ramorum  on some larch trees in one of the plantations. This is a fungal disease which effects Rhododendron bushes and larch trees. Almost every tree and shrub on the estate has been badly burned with the east wind so we will wait and see what the outcome is. This past month has been really busy with the multitude of jobs a Gamekeeper must know and learn. Here are just a few that have been keeping me busy. You must be a very accurate shot both with the shotgun and rifle. If these ground nesting birds are to have any chance of survival they need all the help they can get at this time of year. Just last week in one morning alone I saw Red Shank, Lapwing, Oyster Catcher, Snipe,Wheatear, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Black Grouse and Red Grouse. For the first time in my career I managed to see and photograph a snipe chick with its mother. We have been building shelters in release pens to try and give the poults more cover from buzzards and the rain. Tools and materials needed for that job alone are Strimmer, chain saw, knapsack sprayer, mel, piercer, measuring tape, pencil, hammer and roof nails. Not to mention sheets of tin and posts. The pens are now beginning to resemble some shanty town from the poorer side of Cape Town! This is symptomatic of the lengths you have to go to to protect your livestock so, unfortunately, there is little choice. We’d rather have the pens looking pristine but, with so many buzzards waiting at this time of the year, people need to protect their livestock investments any way they can. In England recently Owen Paterson, Environment Minister, was bold enough to stand up to people and organisations that don’t actually work in the countryside, on the basis of good scientific evidence gathered on the ground in a specific area. He should be applauded for protecting a rural business by using, proportionately, the appropriate legal mechanism that exists in the UK. Yesterday Paul Wheelhouse launched the 2020 Challenge for Scotland’s Biodiversity. If he is serious about saving our wild flora and fauna he should not disregard the views of those who have managed our wild places for over a hundred and fifty years. We must have some balance and proportionality applied for the benefit of all species. The sooner sensible practical management is applied the better chance we have of saving some of Scotland’s conservation-listed species. Time is running out!  At the end of the month I will be attending Scone so I hope to have a catch up with some of you there.