Counting wild grey partridges

Glynn Evans, BASC’s head of game and wildlife management, explains how counting wild grey partridges helps assess breeding success and determine whether there is a shootable surplus.

I was recently asked how, as a keeper working with wild grey partridges, I assessed the breeding season and whether we would have a harvestable surplus. Being on the ground every day, knowing how individual nests had fared and drawing on experience gave us a good indication of whether shooting might be an option that season. However, conducting a partridge count was, and still is, essential for accurately measuring success and trends.

Counts are important for assessing productivity across an estate and contribute to national monitoring through the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust’s Partridge Count Scheme (PCS). The scheme has been running since 1933. Few studies have gathered such consistent information over such a long period.

I first went counting with an older, more experienced keeper. He had counted that ground since the 1950s and had learnt the process from someone involved in the scheme during its early years. Having said that, the process itself is straightforward.

When are counts done?

Counts are carried out twice a year. The first takes place in spring. We generally aimed to do ours in early March. By then, the birds had paired up, but the cover had not grown too high for them to be seen. The spring count indicates breeding abundance or, in simple terms, the number of pairs on the ground.

The second count, which measures breeding success, is carried out in autumn after the harvest has been gathered, generally between mid-August and late September.

How do you go about counting partridges?

The basics are simple. You need a four-wheel-drive vehicle to access your land, maps on which to record sightings and a reasonable pair of binoculars to help with identification.

While we occasionally took an interested visitor along, we found that we needed at least two people. One person would concentrate on driving while the other completed the paperwork, giving us two pairs of eyes to scan both sides of the vehicle.

We drove around the fields, crossing the larger ones when necessary, two to three hours after dawn or before dusk. At these times, the birds were generally away from the hedges and easier to see. The truck also served as a mobile hide, letting us get close enough to observe and identify the birds accurately.

It could take two or three outings to cover a beat, and we liked to complete the count in consecutive sessions for continuity, so when planning the counts, we checked the forecast and looked for a window that avoided poor weather such as heavy rain.

We also stayed focused on the task at hand, without taking a gun or trying to complete other jobs. We focused solely on counting partridges.

The spring and autumn counts are both important and closely linked. For example, a good autumn stock that did not produce more breeding birds the following spring could indicate a problem, such as birds moving off our ground during the winter.

The importance of the GWCT Partridge Count Scheme

Grey partridges, as an indicator species of farmland biodiversity, have been described as a ‘barometer of the countryside’. Consistent information collected over many years and across the country is important for understanding overall trends in grey partridge numbers. The PCS provides this information and is a voluntary, free-to-join scheme run by the GWCT.

You do not need a large population of partridges to take part. The PCS strapline, ‘Everyone Counts’, sums it up. Every submitted count contributes to the national picture and improves our understanding of how grey partridges are faring.

The scheme provides important information nationally and gives participants site-specific guidance based on their counts. They also receive twice-yearly newsletters detailing national and regional counts. Several regional partridge groups offer opportunities to engage with others, share experiences and gain further insights.

Partridge Count Scheme – Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

Glynn Evans

Glynn Evans is BASC’s head of game and wildlife management. Before coming to BASC he was a full-time keeper for over 25 years working on estates in Gloucestershire and Norfolk.