The kitchen looks like most other keepers’ kitchens this morning with wet gear draped all over the place.
The Rayburn is just keekin’ through the coats, bags, radios, binoculars and the countless other paraphernalia that we need to lie out on the hill over night. We were trying to catch up with the last of our fox dens and last night the rain never stopped. Even our hill had it’s own micro- climate with the keepers down in the bottom of the glen being eaten alive with midges and the two at the top blown away with the cold wind and rain.
It was very disappointing to see Defra’s u-turn with the buzzards. I strongly believe that this year we will see a return to the draught protocol that was drawn up by the industry over a 2 year period.
I feel that SNH will try their very best to investigate and advise any person who is having severe predation problems at their pens with buzzards. But we need everybody who is out there experiencing problems to contact SNH and advise them of your problems.
This year will see many of our new laws enacted and I feel it will take many months for everybody to come up to speed with all the changes. But reading between the lines many gamekeepers are well ahead of the game with much of their training.
Brian Lyall, who is on the committee from Sutherland, has just called with “NEWS FROM THE NORTH”. I was telling him I was in the middle of my blog “ Och a wull phone back if yer oan the b-g” he said.