Gamekeeping & Wildlife The Game Keeping of today is very different to the romanticised one of the turn of the century; it has become a specialised business directly responsible for the management of the countryside. It involves more than the rearing of gamebirds. Gamekeepers are called upon by farmers and foresters to maintain the balance of nature. Fifty years ago the care of the birds was largely the responsibility of the Gamekeeper's wife. All the birds were expected to fend for themselves, finding food around the stock yard. Today, Gamekeepers are tending the birds twenty four hours a day, throughout the year, by providing much of the food and shelter necessary for the birds' survival.

Pest Control It is important that the Gamekeeper safe-guards game birds from predators. These are birds or animals which will come and steal either the eggs or the young chicks from the breeding areas. Magpies, Rooks, Crows and Jays can be controlled by the Gamekeeper, who knows their habits and habitats by observing and understanding them. This habitat management regime benefits wild birds and songbirds noticeably. Other predators include: Mink, Stoats, Weasels, Foxes and Rats. The important months for catching vermin and predators is from February through to May. This is because the birds are captive in the pens preparing to lay.

The keeper also controls the populations of rabbits, hares, grey squirrels and deer to prevent damage to trees and crops. Ferreting, shooting and gassing are the methods used to control vermin. Grey squirrels kill trees by ring barking them; they are particularly fond of Beech and Sycamore. They are controlled by trapping, drey poking and poisoning with baited corn in poison hoppers. Deer, as well as eating crops and young trees, strip bark to mark their territories when they rub the 'velvet' off their antlers, which can lead to the death of the trees. There are two types of deer on the Estate - Fallow and Muntjac. Likewise rabbits and hares eat the farmers crop and young tree seedlings.

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