WILD BIRD SHOOT

We run a wild bird shoot on our farm, so we don’t release any birds. The bags tend to be small and reflect how the pheasants and partridges have bred during the spring and early summer. Nearly every field on the farm offers habitat which is specially designed to help the wild birds thrive. These areas either provide them with food and cover during the winter or insects for the chicks when they hatch in the spring. Rats, crows and foxes are controlled from March until July when all ground nesting birds are at their most vulnerable - a fox offers very little threat to a wild bird after the middle of July.

 

We plan to hold four or five shoots during the season but keep a keen eye on not over shooting to leave enough stock for breeding. The wild English partridges are thriving here as reflected in our 2025 spring pair count of 134. Our autumn count was 561 and we have rather more than 400 wild French partridges too. Despite what seems to have been an absolutely perfect weather for partridges since April: warm and sunny with very little rain, we haven't had quite such a good year as we had originally hoped for. This perhaps is a lesson that Mother Nature nearly always has a trick up her sleeve we don't see coming. However, the wild French partridges have had a very good year and the pheasants appear to have done well too. Our fingers are now firmly crossed that the spring and summer of next year are to the liking of our wild English partridges.

 

This graph shows the number of pairs seen each spring per km2 over the last seven years. 

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We have now put in 12 beetle banks across our farm in the larger fields, comprising of a strip of grass (ideal nesting cover) and wild flowers or kale on both sides, providing essential over-wintering habitat for many welcome insects and spiders. These move into the crop in the spring and feed on crop pests. Beetle banks also provide habitat for species which prefer to nest in open farmland away from field boundaries, such as corn buntings, reed buntings, skylarks and mammals like harvest mice. Grey partridges sometimes choose them in preference to hedge banks to avoid predators.

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All our farms have recently joined the SFI environmental scheme and one of the options we have adopted in a big way is the over winter cover crop. This is ideal for partridges as it provides them with a good holding cover over the winter months.

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Mustard and Phacelia planted in early September providing winter cover​

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Our pheasants and partridges now go to Thyme Restaurant in Southrop and our wild English partridges sold out almost immediately. With our new customer in mind, we plan to stop using lead cartridge this season, now that good alternatives are readily available.

 

We have a policy of encouraging young people to come beating and shooting here, as well as hosting nature walks for local people, explaining to them why we only cut our hedges one year in four for example and show them how the wild birds and hares are doing so well.

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In February 2023 we won the Purdey Gold Award for game and conservation. It was wonderful for our wild English partridge work to be recognised. We were up against seven other farms and estates on the short list and rather amazingly, the judges chose us which was a triumph.

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