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The grey partridge is unique amongst British gamebirds as it is the only red-listed species that remains on the quarry list. From over a million breeding

pairs in the UK in the early 20th century we now have an estimated 43,000 pairs left. It is only thanks to the research of the GWCT, which demonstrated that the management employed by sporting estates increased grey partridge numbers, that we are still able to shoot this iconic bird. The grouse may be the king of gamebirds but in recent years the ultimate prize for the game Shot has to be driven grey partridge.

So, in this 10th Anniversary edition of Fieldsports I thought it would be interesting to see where, if you had the connections, you could shoot driven greys, and ask what are they doing that enables them to maintain a shootable surplus of greys when all around them are failing. So before I embark on my fantasy driven day involving four counties, a helicopter, a pair of Purdeys and royal assent, let’s look at what’s happened to the grey partridge over the past decade.

In 2006 the official estimate of wild grey partridge numbers in the UK was 70,000 pairs. By 2012 that figure was down to 43,000 pairs and, although we don’t have any official estimate of numbers since then, the appalling summer of 2012 is likely to have reduced that

number further.Fortunately the GWCT Partridge Count

Scheme (PCS), which dates back to 1933, has more detailed information that is particularly relevant to this article and to keeping the grey partridge on the quarry list. In 2006 the PCS recorded 9,818 pairs of greys on 291,000 hectares (approx 5 per cent of the arable land in the UK), the average pair density being 3.4 pairs per 100ha. By 2012 that number had increased to 13,205 pairs on 255,000 hectares with an average pair density of 5.2 pairs per 100ha. The summer of 2012 not only meant that very few chicks survived but also quite a lot of the breeding stock perished. As a result the 2013 count was down to 7,560 pairs counted on 221,000 hectares with an average pair density back down to 3.4 pairs per 100ha. Preliminary figures from 2016 suggest a density of 3.5 pairs per 100ha.

The GWCT count scheme is reliant on individual farms, estates and shoots carrying out spring and autumn counts and submitting them to the Trust to collate. Over the past five years they have seen a reduction in the number of counts received, possibly as a consequence of people becoming disillusioned after the washout of 2012. But the key figure is the pair density which indicates the greys are holding their own. Not everyone who submits figures to the PCS is interested in shooting the partridges,

but what they are all doing is trying to improve the farmed environment so that the greys can maintain or hopefully increase their numbers.

Of course it is no surprise that the highest densities (up to 20 pairs per 100ha) are consistently recorded on shooting estates which go the extra mile in terms of habitat provision and predator control. Scientific studies by the GWCT at Salisbury Plain and Royston proved that focused predator control in the spring significantly increased nesting success. However, it would be wrong to assume that good predator control alone will deliver a shootable surplus of grey partridges. Over the last 10 years the real focus of grey partridge conservation has been about winter feeding and insects.

With modern agriculture leaving very little in the way of spilt grain or weeds, it is important to provide food for partridge pairs in the lean months of January–April to ensure that the hen is in good condition when she starts to sit in May. In the past it was never felt necessary to provide wild partridges with supplementary food but nowadays many people have a hopper out for every pair that they find. Whilst some don’t like using hoppers, they will still trail feed wheat in areas where they have partridge pairs.

Assuming the keeper has removed as many nest predators as possible, the pairs have survived the early spring aerial bombardment from hawks and that the hen has started nesting in good condition, she has every opportunity to

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GREYS MATTERReflecting on 10 years of grey partridge recovery, Tim Furbank of Oakbank Game & Conservation highlights the key requirements of this most iconic of gamebirds, before slipping into a fantasy world of helicopters, Purdeys, Percys and dreamy sport on those estates that have set the bar in conserving Perdix perdix.

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The fantasy dayAt breakfast I meet the rest of the team put together by Lord Allendale for the first drive of the day at Allendale Estates. Headkeeper Alan Edwards was brought in by Lord Allendale in 2013 to turn Allendale into a wild bird shoot and specifically to help the greys. From a starting point of 17 pairs in 2013, they counted over 100 pairs this spring and a decent breeding season has meant a harvestable surplus. Those are the facts, but in my dreams of course every pair had at least 16 chicks and the place is awash with greys, so much so that we need double guns and my loader appears with a pair of Purdeys for me to shoot!

There is a good south-westerly wind and Alan and his team do a great job of blanking a large area into a stubble field with a large block of roots in the middle. Then the drive really starts and the coveys come steadily to the tall hedge 40yds in front of us. As they clear the hedge, they see the Guns and burst over us,

twisting, turning and calling to each other. On a normal day I would stand and watch, mouth agape, wait far too long and end up shooting at thin air but of course today I am on it and drop several right and lefts in front!

The helicopter picks me up and whisks me the short hop to Alnwick for the second drive courtesy of the Duke of Northumberland whose partridge project has now been running for 11 years. The Duke’s ambition when he started the project was to have enough wild greys to shoot 50 brace on his 50th birthday, a target which was achieved with interest. Headkeeper Garry Whitfield put together a team of wild partridge keepers to look after key areas of the estate where the greys were holding on, and sure enough the increased management led to an increase in greys. We shoot a drive at Ratcheuch and I am stood between the Duke and Lord James (a Percy sandwich?), a position that would make all but the best go weak at the

knees but hey, this is my fantasy and of course I shot like a Percy!

Next it’s down to Norfolk to shoot a drive at the mecca of wild bird shooting in the UK – Her Majesty the Queen’s Sandringham Estate. I have been fortunate to work with the estate over the past 15 years and seen the incredible work they do for wild game and wildlife in general. In 2012 they had some of the highest densities of grey partridge pairs ever recorded. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that David Clark is a legend in the keepering world, and his team of beat keepers are some of the best in the business.

Today the ‘flying squad’ has already brought in a large amount of ground in front of the main beating line and the focus of the drive is a 20ha field of sugar beet. We are lined out behind a thick hedge and can hear the coveys chattering as they are blanked in to the beet field in front of us. The noise is incredible and my heart is nearly beating through my chest as the adrenaline kicks

hatch upwards of 20 eggs. The grey partridge is the most fecund bird in the UK so brood sizes of over 20 chicks are not uncommon. Both parents brood and protect the chicks so they should have a better chance of survival than species which rely totally on the hen for protection. However, the partridge chick, no bigger than a bumblebee is totally reliant on insects for its source of nutrition in the first two weeks of life, and it is the dearth of insects caused by modern agriculture that has had the biggest impact on the grey partridge in the last 50 years.

So how have the most successful estates addressed this? There is no simple answer as there are individual success stories from Scotland to Sussex and from Wales to Norfolk, encompassing hugely different farming operations, soil types and climates. But what they are all trying to deliver is as many ‘chick-food’ insects, by whatever means possible, in the key months of May–July. The great majority of them have bought in to Environmental Stewardship to deliver some of that habitat, some have modified farming practices to

reduce herbicide and insecticide use, but all have sacrificed some of their arable land for the partridges, whether through stewardship or unfunded.

Rather than plain grass margins, floristically enhanced margins deliver more diversity; nectar flower mixes provide insect reservoirs; cultivated margins deliver early spring arable weeds to attract insects, and conservation headlands and second-year wild bird seed mixes offer secure brood-rearing habitats. The majority of them utilize a network of field margins to deliver the insects and winter cover, allowing the farming operations to be unhindered in the middle of fields. Biennial and perennial crops such as kale, sweet clover, chicory, lucerne and reed canary grass are the crops of choice as the longer a crop can be left the greater the build-up of insects. The majority of these crops also double up as winter and summer cover.

Once the predator control and chick food has been addressed and you have had a good breeding season, you then need to have enough winter cover to hold your birds on the ground. In this situation, field margins alone are not

enough and you need to have a few weedy overwinter stubbles as well as traditional ‘game cover’ crops to hold your greys. Some are fortunate to have root crops in the farm rotation and these are always good winter holding crops. Assuming your autumn count shows that you have enough wild greys on the ground to shoot a few, then driving them presents a whole new challenge and for that I leave it to the experts and my fantasy day...

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THE DUKE OF NORTHUMBERLANDThe Duke of Northumberland’s grey partridge project on his Ratcheugh farm saw the number of pairs rise in three short seasons from 17 to 200, with a summer count of 1,148 partridges. He offers his thoughts on ingredients that are key to any partridge project, large or small.

“Assuming there is a small stock, this must be nurtured and given all the right conditions – insect rich cover, nesting cover, winter feed, winter cover,

drying out areas, minimum disturbance, maximum predator control, close control of pesticide use, sufficient sunshine/warmth and an enormous amount of patience and dedication. Not much to ask for, surely!

“On top of this, like-minded neighbours are really important. Winter loss/migration of 50 per cent plus makes this a vital element so the larger the area under suitable management, the better.”

in. Then suddenly they are there, appearing over the hedge as miniature fighter jets. The action is fast and furious and the picking-up team has plenty to do after the drive has finished.

A quick lunch and then the chopper whizzes me down to Arundel where the Duke of Norfolk has established one of the finest and most consistent wild grey partridge shoots in the country. Adoption of HLS and a change to the crop rotation, to include grass/clover leys and roots as well as the planting of miles of hedges and conservation headlands around every cereal field, has created a fantastic environment for the grey partridge to thrive in. A terrific synergy between the farming operation, led by estate manager Peter Knight, and the keepering team headed up by headkeeper Charlie Mellor, has meant that the partridges are a top priority when any important farming or cropping decisions are made. On this, my fourth drive of the day, Charlie and his team use the contours of the South Downs and the strong wind to present some truly epic partridges.

So where to for the last drive? Well for me you can’t beat shooting with your mates and I am very fortunate to have a Purdey Award winning shoot just a few miles from home where I am lucky enough to shoot with quite a few of my Bedfordshire farming friends.

Arriving in the helicopter at Caldecote House Farm means I will have my leg pulled mercilessly but to be honest the mickey taking never stops anyway. Simon Maudlin and Melvin Wright have shown what you can do with grey partridges on a much smaller scale than the previous estates mentioned, but the excitement when the greys come through is no less. Forty pairs of wild greys on 800 acres consistently deliver a small harvestable surplus and, in a good year as many as 40 brace will be shot.

Releasing redlegs and pheasants means that they always have 8–10 days shooting but on the first couple of days what sets the Caldecote shoot apart is the wild greys. The redlegs always give it 100 per cent but Simon’s teams of Guns are usually strong, so the redlegs coming through individually get shot more often than not. When the greys crest the hedge as a covey, however, even some of the better Shots get flustered! After an exciting finale all of the Guns, beaters and pickers-up return to the shoot room for some more of the Maudlin’s legendary hospitality.

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SIMON MAUDLINBedfordshire might not seem the most obvious part of the British isles to find a thriving partridge manor, but Simon Maudlin has created something quite special on the 800-acre family farm at Caldecote. So what would he advise to anyone thinking of starting a recovery project?

“Firstly, is the farmland and surrounding area suitable for wild grey partridges to flourish? You need to be passionate about making it work and it is vital to encourage the landowner, farmer and shoot manager to work together and create perfect habitat around the farming business in order to protect the grey partridge all year round.

“Winter food and tall cover, protection to spring nesting areas (late April to mid August) and to

provide a nearby supply of insect-rich foraging areas. Not forgetting the all-important predator control programme from which many other farmland birds will benefit. I would also suggest taking advice from GWCT.

“If you are lucky, it won’t be long before your time has come and a spring pair of wild greys will have found five star accommodation. Then work with them and make sure you protect them. Also ensure the mower stays off the tractor until all the nests have hatched, most probably around mid-August. This year (2016), our last brood of day-old greys were seen on August 8. The second clutch of eggs is the most important, especially after a poor June.

MALCOLM BROCKLESSTHE GWCT Grey Partridge Recovery Project at Royston in Hertfordshire started in 2002 with little more than a handful of greys on 2,500 acres, yet within five years a bag of 100 brace of redlegs was shot. And there were more greys (not on the day’s shooting agenda) in the air than redlegs.

Heading up the project was the GWCT’s Malcolm Brockless, who has no doubt that similar success can be achieved by anyone who puts their mind to it.

“Ideally, you need sufficient ground, but this can be achieved by involving other neighbouring farms.

For instance, on our first two drives, we drove the birds from land belonging to two different farms and stood the Guns on the third. There is not a problem that cannot be overcome by enthusiasm. We had super support from the farmers here.

“It isn’t about magic or luck – other than a kind summer – any success will depend on the effort and enthusiasm you put into it.”

Predator control has played a big part – Malcolm ran 250 traps and a similar number feeders.

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THE DUKE OF NORFOLKIn 2004 there were just two pairs of grey partridges on the Norfolk estate at Arundel. Former GWCT director general Dick Potts had predicted two years earlier that the bird would become extinct in the Sussex study area by 2005 if nothing was done. “This was unthinkable,” explained the Duke of Norfolk, who, going back to his youth, has always viewed greys with a passion. And he set about putting together a project which was to transform the estate with some spectacular results.

Making wide use of HLS, sympathetic farming, 15km of new hedges (100,000 plants), 10m conservation headlands around most fields, and rigorous keepering, had exceptional results –104 bird species including 23 of the 52 red-list species and 400

pairs of skylarks flourished. And so did an abundance of arable flora of national importance.

But significantly, partridges responded brilliantly. So much so that in 2009 a shoot was held with a guideline of 100 greys – 56 brace resulted. One year on, a team of eight Guns shot a bag of 291 greys, plus 305 redlegs and 42 pheasants – all wild. It was a truly extraordinary day.

“More importantly,” he reflected, “the reared bird shoot, either large or small, will remain the mainstay of the game shooting community, and so it should be, but there is a growing need for more truly wild shoots to re-establish themselves, particularly in lowland Britain. Not least is the importance of reinforcing the links between shooting and conservation.”

COUNT LUCA PADULLIWhen Count Luca Padulli took on the Barton Bendish estate, south of King’s Lynn in Norfolk, he viewed it as much more than a farming investment. He took a holistic approach in the restoration of the whole 4,500-acre estate. Part of that ideal was the recreation of a shoot.

There had been no keeper, nor shoot for over 20 years, so when David Chandler joined as keeper, there were 45 pairs of greys on 4,500 acres. “A miracle there were any in light of the amount of vermin about the

place,” he said. But wildlife responded. Three years in they decided to have a day at the partridges, and he gathered a team of some of Norfolk’s finest.

The outcome? 107 brace of greys, 142½ brace of redlegs and 29 pheasants. So how did he do it?

Inevitably, top of the list was predator control, but he also felt the quietness of the remote location of the farm was important and especially good big hedges with broad, well-drained bottoms. Not forgetting support from farm manager Richard Bailey.

T H E G W C T N E E D S Y O UIf you have any wild grey partridges on your farm or shoot please join the Partridge Count Scheme. The grey partridge is still in trouble and the GWCT needs as much information as possible from as many people as possible to get a true picture. It is an iconic bird and we must keep it on the quarry list to ensure its survival. Whilst it’s fresh in your mind, please contact Neville Kingdon at the GWCT: www.gwct.org.uk/research/long-term-monitoring/partridge-count-scheme

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T WA S E V E R T H U S“I was always brought up to understand that no man could expect no more than five or six real good years in a lifetime” – the writer’s gamebook reveals that the good years occurred roughly at intervals of ten years from 1887 to1924. From Partridges – Yesterday and Today, by Eric Parker (1927).

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