Press Releases - August 2014

The GWCT has been contributing to a study commissioned by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to investigate how corvid traps are used under the current General Licence system in Scotland. The next stage of this project is now being conducted by SASA, who are asking for volunteers to help keep simple records of their catches and to allow SASA staff to remotely monitor trap activity using trail cameras.

A 1.25 MILLION Euro EU Life+ funded project will help farmers in the Avon Valley between Salisbury and Christchurch reverse the fortunes of the iconic and much revered lapwing, which has suffered a dramatic decline over the past 20 years. The species is red-listed as a bird of conservation concern in the UK and conservationists believe that as well as habitat loss, predation of nests by foxes and crows is a major factor limiting lapwing recovery.

The appearance of new insect species, particularly grasshoppers and crickets on the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Allerton Project research farm in Leicestershire indicates that climate change is having an impact on wildlife, according to the Trust’s researchers.

Places are still available on the part-time keepers' course run by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) in Leicestershire this September. The course will be held over the weekend of Friday 19 - Sunday 21 September at the GWCT's Allerton Project farm at Loddington and will be run by highly experienced GWCT advisors Mike Swan and Roger Draycott.

Researchers at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust Scotland have recorded the earliest ever hatch of a red grouse on its core count sites.

Bird watchers could play a vital role in the conservation of one of our most secretive and elusive birds, by volunteering to go out counting woodcock during the summer months when the males are performing their enigmatic roding activity at dusk to attract receptive females.