Shooting Times & Country Magazine
They are counting on us: help save the grey partridge
Rural workers and landowners are being asked to spend some time counting grey partridge numbers as part of an ongoing effort to help conserve the species
Gamekeepers, farmers and landowners are being urged to get involved in an ongoing project to help reverse the decline of the UK grey partridge population.
The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) has run the annual Partridge Count Scheme since 1933 to collect information on the numbers and breeding success of grey partridges.
The charity says that whether the numbers are recorded on a small farm or a large estate, taking part in a count can offer a valuable insight into how well your partridges breed, survive and benefit from your habitat and management provisions.
Participants in the Partridge Count Scheme are asked to undertake a count twice a year — once in spring and again in autumn — either in the morning or in the evening.
GWCT scientist Neville Kingdon, who collates the results of the counts each year, said every bird that gets recorded is vital. “To get a national recovery, we need a national response,” he explained.
“It’s the time of the year when crops are being cut and we can see birds, so it’s the perfect time to go out on your land and take part in the count.
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“We’re not just interested in big numbers — every single count matters and can often be enjoyed as an activity with the family.
“Grey partridges on sites in the Partridge Count Scheme are showing signs of recovery in numbers and those who take part are helping reverse the decline of this once common farmland bird,” he added.
GWCT head of education, and Shooting Times contributor, Mike Swan recently took part in a count in Cornwall, where work for the Trust’s Cornish Grey Partridge Project is based.
He said: “It was a joy to see a well-grown covey with six young; probably the first covey to be produced in the wild in Cornwall for over a decade. There is a long way to go before we can say that there is a self-sustaining population back in Cornwall, but this is a very encouraging result for the first year.”
If you want to get involved in the Partridge Count Scheme, then visit po.st/pcs2017 or email partridgecountscheme@gwct. org.uk for further information.
Factsheets on how to manage land effectively for grey partridges are also available from the GWCT online at po.st/ Gwctpartridge.
“Grey partridges on sites in the Partridge Count Scheme are showing signs of recovery”