Once present in every county in England, today black grouse are red-listed as a species of high conservation concern. The GWCT has been studying this iconic bird and monitoring numbers in the English uplands since the early 1990s. In that time the population has been broadly stable, fluctuating between 1,000…
For a host of reasons chalkstreams capture people’s attention and affections. They are globally unique, freshwater marvels, and important habitat to iconic species such as salmon, native crayfish, otters and mayfly. But generally you learn these things after the chalkstream has already caught you in its spell. I fell for…
For more information, visit Purdey Awards. The closing date for entries is 30 May 2025. How to enter the Purdey Awards Established in 1999 and judged by an exceptional panel of engaged, experienced and enthusiastic conservationists and fieldsportsmen and women, the Purdey Awards are a benchmark for shooting and conservation.…
Depicting local hedgelaying patterns is like reading a map. Walk over to a newly cut-and-laid hedge. If it is 4ft 6in high, with hazel stakes and woven hazel binders along the top, then you are in Midlands foxhunting country. If the stakes are of sawn timber and there are no…
The GWCT is headquartered just outside the charming Georgian town of Fordingbridge, untouched by Starbucks or Costa. Once this backwater might have been appropriate for the GWCT but today the organisation finds itself deep in the mid-current of conservation and environment politics. In her 21 years as chief executive, Teresa…
We all know honeybees, and the majority of us are equally familiar with bumblebees, even if we struggle to name them individually, but solitary bees? They are a huge group that most of us know little about but of the 270 species of bee found in Britain, nearly 250 of…
There’s a snuffling and a scuffling, a snort and a shove coming from the other side of a pig pen in a farmyard on the Doddington Hall estate, near Lincoln. Three Hungarian Mangalitza pigs, genetic cousins of the now extinct Lincolnshire Curly Coat, have just spent their first night at…
Many sporting dogs are helping with conservation and helping to protect endangered species such as bats and water voles in the UK. Earlier this winter, I was walking my spaniel along a footpath when she stopped as suddenly as if she had run into a brick wall. There was no…
The Moray Firth is home to some of the most iconic salmon rivers in the British Isles and, indeed, the world. Famous names such as the Spey, Deveron, Findhorn, Ness, Conon, Oykel and Shin resonate with the legendary status they hold and the special memories many anglers have of them.…
The 2019 Purdey Awards for Game and Conservation are back for another year, and now inviting entries. There’s not long left, so don’t miss your chance to enter. Entries close Monday 20 May 2019. For more on Purdey take a look around their factory in our exclusive tour, read the…
