For most lowland shoots, the cost of pheasant and partridge poults is probably the biggest single outlay in the annual budget, so you want to spend your money wisely. Shopping…
Mike Swan
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How to be a successful and stealthy wildfowler
If your only experience of shooting wildfowl is driven mallard, you could be forgiven for failing to realise that you need to be well hidden if you really want to…
Rat poison resistance – what can you do on your shoot?
I have suspected it for a while, but confirmation popped into the inbox the other day. Four rat-tail tips that I had sent to the Animal and Plant Health Agency…
Bees’ Needs Week – time to support bees and pollinators
The week from 12 to 18 July is Bees’ Needs Week, so what better time to think about supporting bees and other pollinators on the shoot? This is a key…
Is this the end of high birds?
Could the ruling on lead mean the end of high birds? In the early 1990s, when we had a voluntary phase-out of lead for shooting over wetlands, my old mate…
All about the mink and why mink rafts are an effective form of control
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…
Eight key steps for creating a successful shooting syndicate
In 40 years of delivering game management advice, I’ve seen all sorts of shooting syndicates, from big formal shoots to little groups of working people who simply want to escape…
Why predation control needs an integrated plan
Let’s start by noting the words ‘predation control’, rather than predator. In managing game and wildlife, how many predators you kill is of no great relevance; rather it is the…
How to avoid 2021’s corvid control trap
With the season all but over, my mind as usual turns to planning for the next. In just a few weeks, the pheasants will be setting up their territories, strutting…
Conservation projects to carry out during lockdown
If you are involved in shoot management in any way, do consider the following. Is there still a decent shrub layer, or has canopy closure started to starve out the…
How we can help nurture our wonderful woodcock
Woodcock have a reputation of being unpredictable in their movements, here today and gone tomorrow. So you could be forgiven for feeling that whether or not you shoot them makes…
The secrets of successful duck flighting
There is hardly a more exciting sound in the world of shooting than the rush of air through duck wings as they drop in at evening flight. Every time I…
The man-made idyll of grouse moors
Coming from the soft south, I didn’t see a live grouse until I was 19. That was in the summer of 1974, when I took off to the Cairngorms for…
How to use a Larsen trap correctly and effectively
A Larsen trap is an extremely visible form of pest control but using one needs be done correctly. A passer-by who spots a dirty Larsen trap with a dejected-looking calling…
How to keep predators out of your pheasant pen
Wise keepers make life as difficult as possible for those pheasant pen predators intent on finding a tasty meal. Birds are usually lost in two ways: Mass kills of poults…
Perfect pheasant pen: here’s how to create it
Tips on building the perfect pheasant pen
How to use snares for fox control
How to use snares for fox control correctly and legally
Shooters need to try harder to improve biodiversity credentials
Shooting is good for conservation, right? Yes it is, and if I were not convinced of that, I would not still be part of the GWCT advisory service. Helping shoots…
Can you id that duck?
Identifying different duck breeds The question “What’s that one then?” should never be heard from the person who shot a bird, so knowing what the odd unusual duck looks and…
Ducks and geese – not such a fine romance
Have you noticed how often ducks coming to a flight pond come in twos, especially later in the season? It’s no accident — by this time of year the breeding…