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  • Highlight the benefits of your shoot with a Shoot Biodiversity Assessment

    By Alex Keeble, Game & Wildlife Advisor The GWCT has demonstrated through many years of research that good game management can lead to significant benefits to wildlife. Woodlands managed for pheasants tend to support more songbirds and butterflies than non-shooting woods; this is because game...

  • How to get a good return on your partridge releases

    By Alex Keeble, Central England Game & Wildlife Advisor Releasing red-legged partridges can be both rewarding and frustrating, with a variety of factors affecting the success of release. There are many small shoots across the country that, at some point over the years, have decided to release...

  • Corvid Trapping in Scotland: New requirement to register decoy birds

    By Felix Meister, D.Phil., Advisor Scotland In an effort to monitor and combat Avian Influenza, UK Government requires all kept birds to be registered. Separate registers exist for the devolved nations, the relevant one for Scotland being the Scottish Kept Bird Register. Following recent outbrea...

  • DEFRA issues new guidance for England in response to heightened risk of Avian Influenza

    GWCT urges all those involved in shooting, especially those responsible for managing gamebirds and shoot owners, to be vigilant of avian influenza and any control zones implemented in their area.  There are several measures which can help to minimise the likelihood of an outbreak occurring on a s...

  • Invited or Invaders? What we know about the non-native Harlequin vs our home-grown ladybirds

    Written by Jayna Connelly, Science Communicator Native ladybird species in the UK: The UK is home to around 47 native ladybird species, many of which are tiny and rarely noticed—some are less than 3 mm long! Not all ladybirds are red with black spots—many smaller species are yellow, brown, or ev...

  • Hedgerows: Have your say!

    Food and shelter for wildlife, shade for livestock, harbouring beneficial insects, creating wind breaks and aesthetic beauty… what could provide all of these benefits and so much more? Hedgerows of course! I’m a PhD student at Royal Holloway University, co-supervised by the GWCT, passionate about...

  • Monthly musings – Mouldiwarp the earth hog

    Written by Henrietta Appleton, Policy Officer (England) Image courtesy of Wildlifetrusts.org This sounds like a character from Lord of the Rings but it is actually one of the common names for the only member of the Talpa genus in the British Isles, the common (European) mole. Mouldiwarp literall...

  • Tips for re-establishing grey partridges on your land

    By Alex Keeble, Game and Wildlife Advisor (Central England) Often many shoots attempt to re-establish grey partridges through releasing. However, re-establishment efforts are prolonged, labour-intensive and expensive operations with no guarantee of success. From our extensive research of the grey...

  • Getting Stuck In: Field notes from our first couple of months

    Written by Jack Chapman, Scottish Lowland Placement Student Upon joining the GWCT, we’d hoped for lots of opportunities to develop fieldwork skills, and we certainly haven’t been disappointed. From setting up pitfall traps, sampling grouse for parasites, and surveying partridges. Fellow placement...

  • Find the perfect Christmas gift with the GWCT

    The festive season is almost upon us, and while the days are growing colder and the countdown to Christmas speeds up, it's natural to feel a little overwhelmed by the gift-shopping rush. If you're still on the hunt for that perfect present, worry not - the GWCT Shop is here to make your Christma...

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