Somewhere to live, enough to eat

It is like a tidal wave opening before me. Early in the morning when I drive down the farm tracks Red-legged partridges run ahead and fly low to get out of the way, in the mirror I can see them come back onto the track.

Red-legged Partridge pair, morning disagreement feather in beak. August Suffolk Alectoris rufa

At Little Haugh and Halls Farms nearly 30,000 Red-legged partridges are released in late summer and autumn along with thousands of pheasants. These game birds arrived in late spring when they were a few days old and have been raised in large outdoor pens round the farms. More than 5% of the land on both farms does not grow any crops and is managed to provide food and shelter for the game birds. This contrasts with most Suffolk farms where nearly all the land is cropped. Of course, most of these birds will be shot over the coming months.

Pheasant pair, early morning, September Suffolk. Phasianus colchicus

A gamekeeper manages the shooting at Little Haugh and Halls Farms; a student gamekeeper and other people help him at busy times. During the summer the main work of the keeper is raising the young birds in the pens. The “drives” where the birds are shot later in the year also have to be managed over the summer. Bird feeders are placed round the un-cropped land, seed rich plant mixes are sown, hedges and trees are managed to encourage the soon-to-be released birds to stay on the farms. When the birds are released they are provided with daily food and water around the drives so that they do not wander off into neighbouring farms. The keeper is also responsible for running the shooting days and the safety of people on the shoot.

Muntjac deer emerging at dusk. September evening Suffolk. Muntiacus reevesi

You maybe surprised to be reading about shooting and gamekeepers and think what has this got to do with wildlife? Well, the answer is in the numbers; at least 4 pairs of Barn Owls, 3 pairs of Buzzards, a resident Kite, breeding Hobbies, flocks of Yellowhammers, Skylarks, Snipe and Lapwings, a large Brown Hare population, and Otters. I could go on and have not even mentioned the rich insect fauna including butterflies and bees. The wildlife on Little Haugh and Halls Farms rivals that on many dedicated wildlife reserves in Suffolk.

Barn Owls, watchful waiting in an Oak tree. July evening, Suffolk. Tyto alba

The answer to the seeming contradiction between conservation and shooting and is simple. Wildlife increasingly has two big problems; nothing to eat and nowhere to live. Birds and most animals must be able to eat most days. On much of the intensively farmed land there is often nothing to eat for weeks, this leads to starvation and death. Most farmland now has very little shelter or breeding places for birds or animals, most potential wildlife homes are mown or sprayed out of existence. Many farms are effectively wildlife deserts.

Brown Hares three at nightfall. August Suffolk. Lepus europaeus

There are compromises, if you are a fox on these farms life is dangerous. Deer, especially Muntjack, are shot because of the damage they do to woodland, and Roe and Red Deer are controlled as well. Wood pigeon are shot all year round as in most of Suffolk. However, the land that is devoted to shooting also provides food and homes to a rich diversity of wildlife in numbers not seen on the vast majority of farms. It has to be said as well that the interest and passion for wildlife by the owners of Little Haugh and Halls Farm are a major factor in giving wildlife somewhere to live and enough to eat all year round. If purpose-bred game birds are shot, this is a compromise I can live with.

Roe Deer in tall summer flowers, early morning August Suffolk.Capreolus capreolus

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