Mrs Down's Diary

CHANGES in the weather, as well as changes in farming practices, have reduced the English partridge population drastically. To rectify things in a small way at home, each August, John buys in English grey partridge chicks at six weeks old, and puts them in release pens around the farm.

By The Newsroom

Published 12th Dec 2008, 08:36 BST

Updated 8th Jun 2018, 04:11 BST

There is plenty of cover in the pens and for the first week John leaves them alone to get used to the feeders and drinkers in the pen and accustom themselves to the sounds and sights of their surroundings.

Then they are gradually trickled out into the thickets and plantations where the pens are, in the hope that the birds will settle in the area. He is not looking to provide partridges for shooting, but to re-establish greys in the area.

Of course, he is a keen shooting man, but he, like all of his friends who he shoots with, are as committed to conserving wildlife and providing habitats as any eco-warrior or anti. And , they actually do something about it. In John's case by planting hundreds of trees around the farm to provide shelter for wildlife.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette December 24

West Sussex Gazette