KeeperÕs DIARY
Ladder traps are a great way of helping to control the corvid population and protect young gamebirds and fauna in the area
Well, things seem to be under control this month! Cover plots have been cultivated and drilled on both shoots and finally we’ve had some rain, the pigeons seem to be leaving the farms in peace at the moment and haven’t even been much of a problem on the spring drillings – they must be bothering one of the neighbouring farms – but I’m sure they’ll turn up again soon. The rabbits are holding at reasonable numbers, probably through my efforts with the drop traps and getting on top of them early in the year with the rifle. All good at the moment and I’ve even managed to move house.
Good news
There’s good news for the wildlife on the Holywell shoot, too. The farm owner has applied and been accepted on the five year Countryside Stewardship Scheme and there is going to be 25 acres of land planted with wild bird mixes/pollen and nectar at a few locations, all of which will keep the wild birds as well as the small, but growing, population of grey partridges happy. There has to be some supplementary feeding for the wild birds too, but we can’t put feeders in these areas and I wouldn’t want to anyhow. I love seeing these kinds of improvements to the land and seeing the wild birds thrive.
Ladder traps
Ladder traps are a great way of helping to control the corvid population and I manage to trap around 100 each year, which helps to minimise the damage these voracious predators inflict to the young gamebird population and indeed the other fauna in the area. These traps are simple to make and fantastically effective if used correctly. BASC have a great set of instructions and even a video on its website, along with a best practice guide, which explains the law around trapping pest species birds, visit www.basc.org.uk/game-and-gamekeeping/ how-to-make-a-ladder-trap. It’s well worth a look and with very basic tools and a load of two by one and chicken wire they will easily be made in a day.
Ladder traps are no more than a large bird cage with a gap left in the top. The ladder can be removed to allow birds in and out freely or put in place to set the trap. The main points for me when placing and setting up the trap are; look for a site where corvids regularly feed or between their feeding site and their roosting wood well away from roads and public footpaths.
For the first week, bait the trap regularly (I use wheat or barley in mine), leave the ladder section out of the trap for about five days or until the crows are feeding happily in the unset trap. When the crows have found