2023

This October, the GWCT’s Head of Wildlife Recovery Dr Francis Buner, accompanied by placement student Jasmine Canham, was invited to give a keynote presentation on grey partridge conservation in Europe, on the occasion of the national launch event for a German-wide grey partridge recovery project called ‘Rebhuhn retten – Vielfalt fördern!’ (‘Save the grey partridge – Promote biodiversity!’).

The RSPB Scotland has nominated the GWCT’s Balgonie Biodiversity Project for the 2023 Nature of Scotland Awards. It is one of four projects shortlisted in the Food and Farming category for its excellent work at the arable demonstration farm near Glenrothes in eastern Scotland.

This week, several GWCT research staff are out in the Sussex countryside undertaking autumn partridge counts. The PCS is a free and voluntary scheme run by the GWCT since 1933 to collect information on the annual abundance and breeding success of grey partridges. 

Breeding bird surveys are an essential part of biodiversity monitoring in the UK, to understand the changing numbers of resident and migratory birds.

The partridge pair surveys are an essential tool for monitoring the population dynamics of the grey partridge, Perdix perdix, a ground-nesting bird found in the UK and across Europe, that we use as an indicator species for farmland biodiversity.

Neville Kingdon looks at our historic Partridge Count Scheme and how the future of the iconic grey partridge rests in the hands of individuals on the ground.

Over the course of the PARTRIDGE project, the GWCT has hosted up to three new students each year – always sad to see them leave but equally excited for the next students to arrive. Over the years it has been a pleasure to employ some extremely talented undergraduates from across the UK. Here, several of our past students share some of their highlights since finishing their placement with the PARTRIDGE project, and their achievements and experiences make a very interesting read!