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  • Blackthorn

    Blackthorn The seasons have felt quite odd this year. It started with a seemingly late spring, followed by a start-stop harvest, but now it is finally starting to feel a bit chilly. The change in season was very much felt last Saturday (23 October) while I was at Rotherfield Park Estate with my c...

  • Woodlands and pheasants

    Pheasants are usually released in small woods or near to the edge of larger woodland blocks. This is because pheasants prefer the woodland fringe, an area up to 50 metres from the edge. Pheasants require regular access to open areas for sunning and feeding during winter. In spring, males hold bre...

  • Beetle banks

    Given the right conditions, predatory insects and spiders can overwinter in field boundaries and in spring move into the crop, reducing pest numbers significantly. By providing places for them to spend the winter you can encourage winter boundary densities of more than 1,000 per square metre. We ...

  • The Hunting with Dogs (Scotland) Bill - January 2023

    The Hunting with Dogs Bill repeals and replaces the Protection of Wild Mammals Act, which was passed in 2002. The bill makes it clear that it is illegal to hunt a wild mammal with a dog. The owner or occupier of land also commits an offence if he/she allows another person to do so. The maximum p...

  • Game & Wildlife Glossary

    A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z Agri-Environment Scheme (AES)Government grants farmers or land managers can apply for to help support wildlife, habitats and the environment. Ancient semi-natural woodlandsAreas of woodland that have been continuously wo...

  • Trail Camera Appeal

    Will you help us to prove what’s driving nest losses? By Dr Andrew Hoodless, GWCT Director of Research You and I both know that many ground-nesting birds are in desperate need of help. If you look at the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern, it’s there for all to see. Lapwing, curlew, ringe...

  • Help the GWCT come back stronger

    With your help we can come out of the pandemic even stronger By Teresa Dent CBE, GWCT Chief Executive 3 minute read A year on from the start of the pandemic, your support has given us hope and enabled us to keep going – thank you. When the pandemic hit last March, we forecast a drop in income of...

  • Farm4Bio

    The widespread adoption of agri-environment schemes is seen as the best way to improve farmland biodiversity. Yet if this approach is to be applied efficiently and successfully we first need to know: Does active management (comparable to the HLS approach with advisory back up) compared to farm m...

  • Recommendations on fox snares

    Summary Effective fox control is an integral part of wildlife management, for conserving wild species of ground nesting birds and game birds. Snaring plays an important role in fox control in some circumstances. If snares are well designed and used strictly according to the Defra Code of Practice...

  • Meet our advisors

    England Roger Draycott, Director of Advisory and Education, and Eastern and Northern England Advisor From a farming background and with a PhD in pheasant ecology, Roger has worked at the GWCT since 1993. He spent many years undertaking applied research on pheasants (reared and wild) and grey part...

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