16 February 2015

Fife is made for grey

Kingdom farmers urged to go wild for conservation

Wild grey partridge pairThe Kingdom of Fife has the capacity to host a large number of wild grey partridges but as yet the potential of this area to provide a major share of Scotland’s partridge population has not been fully realised.

Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust researchers have calculated that the region could support 2,400 (spring) pairs of grey partridge (approximately 8% of what Scotland could achieve) but, to date, they have only received data via the charity’s national Partridge Count Scheme (PCS) from a small percentage of land managers who can help them build a picture of the actual grey partridge population.

In spring 2014, just 74 pairs were counted in Fife for the PCS, over an area of 2,560 hectares – so a long way to go to meet the regional target.

To encourage conservation measures and monitoring of the birds amongst local farmers and gamekeepers, the Fife Committee of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust launched the Kingdom Agribusiness Grey Partridge trophy earlier this month (Thursday Feb 5).

GWCT Director Scotland Dr Adam Smith instigated the award during the committee’s successful dinner and auction at Kilrie Granary.

“The Kingdom Agribusiness Grey Partridge Trophy is an award for anyone that can show the most effort to encourage wild grey partridge survival. Fife has the potential to be a fantastic region for these birds and we are hoping this award will stimulate and encourage land managers to help revive the fortunes of this once-common bird in the spirit of good wild partridge conservation.”

This once familiar farmland bird species, which flourished on farmland across the UK, has declined by about 86 per cent over the past 40 years. GWCT research indicates that a lack of suitable year-round habitat such as insect-rich brood rearing areas, which provides vital insect food for young chicks to eat when they first hatch, as well as an increase in nest predators are implicated in the decline.

The PCS is very keen to attract more interaction by doubling the number of farmers and gamekeepers returning their spring and autumn count details. This information helps the charity to assess the population more accurately, and it also helps build a national picture of how the bird is faring across the country.

PCS organiser Neville Kingdon explained a bit more about this scheme:

“We want more of Fife’s farms and shoots involved and taking an interest in conserving what greys they have. A lot of farms in Fife may have a few pairs at most – some may have more - but if they can double or triple their numbers of wild partridges, by using the site-specific results the PCS can provide, then they will have achieved their portion of the target. A PCS count is not complicated to undertake – basically it’s driving around the fields for a few hours with binoculars after dawn or before dusk (when the birds are more likely to be seen) and counting what pairs you observe.

“The timing of counts varies between sites depending on when greys pair up to breed, the weather and crop growth. Fife spring pair counts usually start during March or April. The autumn covey counts, which measure the summer’s breeding success (a time when greys are often unseen in cover), are undertaken during harvest or soon after.

“It is useful to emphasise that the PCS is meant for farmers, land managers and keepers to use it as a management tool for improving their conservation efforts for grey partridge and benefitting other farmland wildlife. As well as showing if numbers go up or down, the results can help each site involved to better understand why this is happening, at what time of the year and helps take away the guesswork of what can be improved.”

“It would also be encouraging to have more women involved as the PCS is rather male-dominated at present, and especially so in Scotland. Perhaps couples could share their counting?

“The new Kingdom Agribusiness Grey Partridge Trophy is an excellent way to inspire and reward the conservationists amongst Fife’s land managers who are prepared to help save this iconic farmland bird. Together with the PCS it is incredibly useful in reversing the fortunes of the grey partridge”

For more information on the PCS, please visit www.gwct.org.uk/pcs or email partridgecountscheme@gwct.org.uk.

END

Caption: Wild grey partridge pair – a common site in the Kingdom of Fife once more? (Peter Thompson, GWCT)


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. We employ 22 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming, fish 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.

For information, contact:

Playfair Walker
Telephone: 0131 445 5570
Email: richard@playfairwalker.com