Rare bird fights back with a bit of help from its friends

Wild grey partridges should be widespread across the British countryside, but according to recent Defra figures, the population of this cherished farmland bird, which has fallen a further 20 per cent, is now suffering local extinctions in many areas of the country.  In an effort to boost dwindling numbers, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) are spearheading an inspiring joint initiative to save this iconic species.

Dr Nicholas Aebischer, from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust said, “The simple reason for this shocking decline is that we have suffered two really appalling wet summers in 2007 and 2008.  Young partridge chicks, when they first hatch can die rapidly from hyperthermia when it is constantly wet. But that was then.  Partridges have now benefited from two good summers and where the right conditions are being provided our monitoring shows that they can bounce back.”

The partridge population has suffered a catastrophic 86 per cent decline over the past 40 years, but the dry weather has helped this iconic bird make an astonishing 26 per cent come-back on shooting estates, which are creating the right wildlife habitats by providing food and protecting this vulnerable ground-nesting bird from generalist predators.

But to ripple this positive effect to more areas of land and save this bird from more local extinctions, the Trust and the CLA are holding countrywide regional grey partridge awareness meetings in various areas of the country this autumn, including: Perrystone Estate, near Ross on Wye; Brackenburgh Estate near Penrith; Bilton Farm near Alnwick in Northumberland and Calmsden Manor Estate, near Cirencester.  The aim of these partridge group meetings is to provide expert advice and inspire landowners and farmers to ‘save the grey’ by becoming actively involved in partridge conservation.

CLA President William Worsley said: “Landowners are very aware of the pressure on our indigenous partridge population and the need for urgent action to encourage and manage habitat where grey partridge can thrive.   Seeing how other sporting estates and farms manage their land successfully to conserve this threatened bird helps to spread the word and this management counts towards the Campaign for the Farmed Environment. We hope these events will attract widespread interest and, most importantly, inspire action.”

The Trust is also keen to enlist more people onto its Partridge Count Scheme (PCS).  This free scheme provides extensive advice to landowners interested in boosting their threatened partridge population.  The PCS, which is one of the largest farmer-led monitoring schemes in Europe also provides a detailed account of how the partridge population is faring in areas managed by its count scheme members.

Grey partridges, which were once common across the country, have specific management requirements, Dr Aebischer explains, “The Trust has been researching the issues facing grey partridges for the past 40 years.  No other farmland bird has had such a vast amount of money and research dedicated to its survival.  We now have the expertise and science to target their specific needs but if we are to restore the fortunes of this once familiar farmland bird then a much larger community of farmers, landowners and conservationists needs to be mobilised.”

Targeting their specific requirement means providing ‘round the year’ management of farmland for partridges by creating nesting, brood-rearing and winter and spring cover as well as providing extra over-winter food and predator control during the nesting period.  To inspire action to “Save the Grey”, events will be held on :

• Wednesday 22 September from 2.30 to 5pm at Perrystone Estate, Nr Ross on Wye, Herefordshire
• Wednesday 22 September – Cumbria & North Lancashire group at Brackenburgh Estate near Penrith (by kind permission of John Harris)
• Thursday 23 September – Northumberland group at Bilton Farm near Alnwick (by kind permission of Ian Tulip)
• Thursday 30 September from 3.45 to 7.30 at Calmsden Manor, Calmsden, Cirencester, by kind permission of Mark Tufnell

For further information on these grey partridge meetings, please phone Lynda Ferguson on 01425 651013 or email: advisory@gwct.org.uk or visit the Trust’s website: www.gwct.org.uk/courses 

Photocaption: Wild grey partridge are one of our most rapidly declining farmland birds.  However, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and the CLA are launching an inspiring  joint initiative to save this threatened bird.

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Notes to editors

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is an independent wildlife conservation charity which carries out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats and we lobby for agricultural and conservation policies based on science. We employ 14 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming and statistics.  We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant-aid from Government and private bodies.   The Trust is also responsible for a number of Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) has more than 35,000 members.  We have been looking after the interests of our members, as well as promoting the positive aspects of land ownership, land management and rural business activities for the past 100 years. CLA members own or manage approximately half the rural land in England and Wales, and the resulting expertise puts us in a unique position to formulate policies and lobby effectively. For more information about the CLA, visit: www.cla.org.uk

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Morag Walker, Head of Media
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