ESTATE ERRANDS

From crop choice to pest control, land and estate managers have a long list of ‘things to do’ as spring turns to summer. We’ve got the essential advice

The early summer months are crucial for gamekeepers and land managers. The winter-that-wasn’t in 2015 has been a mixed blessing, making predator control among other things much more difficult. A spell of bad weather over a relatively short period of time during the coming months can be seriously damaging. Owners will be needing and hoping for more favourable conditions, and this isn’t simply a matter of average rainfall and temperature over the period.

We might not be able to do much about the weather, but we can help by managing predation and habitat. It is also important to remember that much of what is done to help wild game is not only of huge benefit to other wildlife, but will also make the ground much more attractive to reared game upon release.

Common among land managers is a failure to recognise that woods and land are constantly growing, developing and changing. The warm shelter belt that was so attractive to game 10 years ago has now grown over, is dark and cold, and no pheasant is going to want to spend any time there.

Any piece of land will have a natural carrying capacity and some, without improvement, will struggle to hold game at all – think of a ploughed field as opposed to nice greening stubbles.

This is where cover crops can be particularly significant. Many shoots will grow them with an eye to producing good drives in the winter, but often, by altering the crops, you not only help wild bird production but also hold the birds you put down.

Using the habitat to help prevent the desire to wander is a big plus, especially if you can only work on the land part-time. Where a lack of time is a real disadvantage, of course, is when it comes to pest control. The big-budget estates may be able to run extensive circuits of tunnel traps and snares, but if you follow the more DIY route, the effort of running just a few traps or snares is well spent. A stoat caught before young are produced reduces the threat to wild and reared birds on your land.

Larsens and other cage traps should by now have started to make inroads into controlling corvids, but there always seems to be an odd pair that defies capture and starts to nest in an out-of-the-way place. These are best dealt with by keeping an eye open and making a note of the location before the leaf is out on the tree.

The most important aspect in this regard, however, is to ensure you remain within the law. An estate manager, and everyone else who carries out avian pest control, does so under the respective general licences for the home country in which they operate.

Permission is required from the land owner before setting traps on his or her land, and traps need to be inspected daily. Where traps are left in the open but not in use, you must make sure that they are rendered incapable of holding or catching birds. One way of doing this is to ensure that the door secured in open position. When your trap is not in use, remove all traces of food from within the trap.

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