Blogs

The results of the Scottish election next month could be highly influential regarding the impact on rural management for the next five years and beyond. 

Curlew breeding and wintering numbers are declining in Hampshire and periodic surveys of breeding waders in the New Forest suggest that the curlew population probably peaked in the 1980s at about 120 pairs, but has since declined to about 45 pairs. 

The GWCT has estimated that planting a tree every 20 metres in English hedgerows would significantly meet the policy target, with the potential to host 40 million trees without repurposing a single acre of land.

Muirburn, which covers the controlled burning of heather, gorse bushes and grasslands, is a vital conservation and land management tool. 

Roger Draycott explains why it is important that guns become 'conscientious consumers' and find out what the shoot they are considering buying a day at is doing for wildlife.

The last few days has seen a worrying development at Auchnerran. We have been monitoring badger numbers on the farm over the years and noticed a steady increase in their abundance and have recorded the occasional raid on a wader nest. But over the last week or so we have lost approx. two-thirds of our early lapwing nests (around 20) to badger predation.

Three of the satellite-tagged woodcock, tracked as part of the GWCT’s Woodcock Watch project, have sent updates over the past few weeks. 

Wellies.com is very proud to announce a new partnership with the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust whereby we will be donating 20% commission to the Trust on any sales that come via this link: www.wellies.com/?partner=gwct or any of the other links in this blog.

With a surplus of game on the ground with the loss of two months of game shooting due to the COVID pandemic, there have been occasional reports that the excess of game birds left are now beginning to influence recently drilled spring crops.

With all the news about new rules for trapping stoats, and changes to general licences for corvid control, it’s easy to forget that there are other predators out there that we need to address, and now is a good time to be on the case.