Blackgame Dewilding COUNTRY SQUIRE MAGAZINE

BY CALUM CAMPBELL

On moving back to the Grantown area in 2020, I made it a priority to try and photograph Blackcock the following Spring.

I got the chance on a sporting estate near the headwaters of the River Spey.

On doing a little research, I discovered all is not well with the Blackcock population in the UK. Hence the reason they have been put on the Red List, a species of highest concern that need urgent action to try and reverse their serious decline:

One sporting estate with a lek of around 12-15 males, all gone.
Another sporting estate with around 50 males, down to 3.
Another lek on Loch Ness side, around 100 male blackgame, down to 1.
An estate west of Aberlour with around 100 males, down to 3.

The increase in predators, whether winged like goshawks or not like badgers, they have all played a part.

With stories of leks down in Dumfries & Galloway being planted over with new trees, there’s an awful lot against Blackgame.

On 10^th January this year, I was walking a dog up behind Dulnain Bridge, near Grantown on Spey. I came upon a newly erected deer fence. I followed it along and came upon a dead Blackcock having struck this unmarked deer fence.

This is on Mukrach Estate, owned by Calthorpe Estates. They have recently erected 27km of deer fence to create a new woodland and regenerate existing woodland. Calthorpe proudly state they will ‘lead by example with this, one of the largest of its kind, a native forest creation, it will be ideal for rewilding and enhance nature.’

Mukrach was previously run as a Grouse Moor, it lies within the Cairngorms National Park. A Grant of £2,581,220.45 was given to Calthorpe to create this woodland. The project has been overseen by Savills Estate Agents.

So, on April 5^th this year, I walked a small part of the fence where Blackgame travel between one of the neighbouring estates.

I found 2 Greyhen (the female blackgame) kills. I have found another one recently on a different part.
I also found a Woodcock nest with 4 eggs.
I checked the Woodcock nest the following week and on the 11^th April, 2 diggers were busy mounding ready for tree planting.
The following week, on checking the Woodcock nest, I discovered the nest abandoned, the eggs were chilled. Marks of a digger had passed within 60cm of the nest. A mound was also dug out close to the nest.

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, ALL birds’ nests are protected. No nest must be interfered with whilst in use.

So, who will be charged under this Act, the digger driver who was only following orders, the company planting the trees, Savills who are in charge, or the landowner perhaps?

Guidance advises that all work, whether fencing, mounding or planting should be finished by the middle of March, or the end of March at the latest, to try and not disturb any nesting birds.

If they were running late, I’m sure they could have organised someone to walk in front of the diggers checking for any nesting birds. They clearly didn’t bother.

I noticed the fences only have bamboo canes tied on to try and prevent bird strikes.

Scottish Forestry Guidance advises the use of orange plastic netting, or wooden fencing droppers, or chestnut paling – not bamboo canes.

The fences had gaps at the bottom where hares or roe deer could enter, the gaps had been stuffed with pulled up heather.

An Environmental Impact Assessment was carried out by someone calling themselves ‘Blairbeg Consulting Ltd’.

Numerous site visits had been carried out, noting all kinds of vegetation and birdlife and mammals. All parts of the planting area had been covered to within 100m.

They state that during their studies, no protected mammal species was recorded.

A huge and glaring mistake.

Mountain Hares were protected in the Spring of 2021. And there are a lot of them on Mukrach. Mukrach has always had mountain hares on it. Nothing has been done to prevent the trees from hares.

The 27km of fencing has no rabbit netting on it.

The amount of trees already eaten by hares is considerable.

Hares have even been eating the trees dumped in the white plastic tote bags ready for planting.

A small skiffing of snow and the hares will start on the planted Scots Pines.

Diggers have mounded all of one of the Blackcock leks and have gone to within 30m of the other lek. This is disgraceful.

Broadleaf trees have been planted on the bottom side of the lek which has been mounded. They have plastic tube Vole Guards around them. I walked approximately 50m and counted 27 tubes, only 4 trees are left out of the 27, all destroyed by hares.

On checking the area, there are an awful lot of trees already eaten by hares. Even holly saplings are eaten.

In another area, trees have been planted on a steep bank within 2m of a waterway and a handful of fertiliser has been chucked on the ground. Not ideal as the rain will flush it into the waterway. The 20% Phosphate and 9% Nitrogen won’t do the waterway any good, increasing algae and weeds.

Saplings have been planted on top of mounds. You know how wet this spring has been … well, they are quite dry already.

The optimum place for planting is halfway up on the mound.

Calthorpe were advised not to mound or plough for planting and to use low intensity methods.

Natural Regeneration is good on parts of Mukrach, but diggers have mounded all through these areas, driving over some of the regen trees.

Deer are constantly blamed for stopping natural regeneration of native woodland. For the record, there have never been any red deer based on Mukrach, apart from the occasional deer passing through.

So, Dear Readers, the Blackgame desperately need your help. Get sharing this article with its clear photo evidence as the public really need to know. In this time of austerity, it’s your tax revenues used to fund this debacle.

I’ve written to ScotGov, Scottish Forestry and NatureScot to try and get it made law, new fencing needs to be marked as soon as it is erected, not a week or two later. Blackcock leks need a buffer zone of 200m for their leks and all works must finish at the end of March.