Gamekeeper

It is critical more land be made nature-friendly, but people need to be educated to stop disturbing precious conservation margins

MFragile

y phone buzzed on the kitchen counter and a text notification popped up. “Are the lapwings back?” it read. I paused and wondered who had sent the message. On closer examination, it was a local resident who sometimes messaged me in regard to illegal lampers.

“Yes,” was my reply, “isn’t it wonderful.” One of the most rewarding things about the Bywell Estate conservation project is the interest shown by local residents who have seen the environment change for the good — encouraging a greater range of species to coexist among the wild game.

Lapwing plots were established using Countryside Stewardship agreements and have been a great success. These have built on the work done to hold on to a small and desperately vulnerable local population that could be counted as a handful, even by the most optimistic. Nine years on, the moving sight of several hundred lapwings gathering in the area prior to breeding is testament to the success story that a path to wild game has gifted the ecosystem on the estate.

The fragility of the project cannot be overstated. The deep-rooted philosophy of the estate owners and those who manage for them is not at question, but the need to balance a viable working agricultural system with the ability to generate valuable financial support for the wildlife can be challenging. The next steps can potentially be the greatest move we have made towards even greater diversity and density of species. However, without support through a more outward-thinking agricultural support scheme, it will be all too easy for farmers to abandon environmental measures in favour of chasing the golden bushel and revert the undoubted benefits to wildlife in favour of greater production.

Throughout the country, wildlifeenhancing measures are still a low priority and, in percentage terms, incredibly small. What we have nationally can be reflected on a personal scale here on the estate. The overwhelming percentage of hectares are still intensive agricultural land that, for the best part, is severely degraded from a wildlife perspective. This makes the area dedicated to wildlife enhancement and conservation vitally important. As with most things in nature, not everything is equal. Some areas fare better than others for producing abundant wildlife, so the areas we have designated are reduced by natural selection instantly.

How many times have I thought,

“this should be perfect for a pair of grey partridges”, only to be disappointed when the partridges did not see it that way.

One of our three-year-old lapwing plots established the first breeding pair only last season. So sometimes it takes longer than we can ever imagine for wildlife to make the first tentative steps needed to establish the foothold for sustainability.

My pet concern at the moment is the percentage of the conservation-selected area that is degraded by the actions of humans. All too often, I encounter people who understandably see conservation margins as the most idyllic passage around farmers’ fields. The diversity of flowering species and abundant insect populations are hard to resist for anyone keen on a better planet. More often than not, these people are accompanied by the most unruly and poorly trained dogs, oblivious to the dogs hunting in these rare and precious environments.

When challenged, invariably the first line of defence is that they are keeping out

“All over the UK, wildlife-enhancing measures are still a low priority”

of the growing crops so as not to upset the farmer. This is swiftly followed by, “I’m not doing any harm, I’m only going for a walk”.

Sadly, I see first-hand the damage that continual and persistent access has on the conservation status of these minute areas of our landscape.

I find the attitude of a high percentage to be so removed from the needs of nature or conservation that I despair for our futures. These selfish acts are taking a toll on the overall percentage of area available to wildlife and conservation within our beautiful countryside.

Negative

These encounters frequently end with negative feelings. I worry they will only reflect badly on conservation managers, because no matter how diplomatically the encounter is handled, the ‘no’ word is spoken. No, you can’t walk there because you’re on a conservation margin. No, you can’t let your dog run, it’s disturbing the wildlife. All the body language is negative. They see me, and everyone like me, as someone who is only protecting the game. This couldn’t be further from the truth. I care passionately about the plight of wildlife in this country. Game is a secondary consideration.

Perhaps some of the high-profile celebrity television presenters who claim to care so much for wildlife could champion a greater understanding of negative human disturbance, or is this just hoping for too much?

Lapwings are now thriving on the Bywell Estate thanks to the Countryside Stewardship scheme