S D R

I Above:The grey partridge has a

B brick red face, as opposed to the WHAT DO GREY PARTRIDGES NEED? e

R black-and-white pattern on the

O red-legged partridge. Insects to feed to chicks Lots of seeds Safe nesting cover g F in the spring and summer throughout the year The grey partridge can be found in Grey partridges nest on the G d most farming systems except Grey partridge chicks feed on Adult grey partridges feed ground in vegetation cover i N provided by hedge banks, dyke I predominantly improved grasslands. insects, especially caterpillars, mainly on seeds and shoots r

T sides, grassy field margins, beetle The UK grey partridge population sawfly, beetles, bugs, ants and throughout the year. They seek F

t banks, winter cereals, game fell by 87% between 1970 and aphids. Chick survival is higher places where they can find lots O cover, ditches and nettle beds. r 2003. This has been mainly caused when there is plenty of this food of seed food. Such areas include R available. Chicks take insects winter stubbles, wild bird Well drained areas with dead

C by the loss of insect food sources a mainly from crop margins. cover/game cover, root crops, tussocky grass left over from the on farmland. The loss of seed D newly-sown crops and weeds in previous year is particularly sources, the loss of nesting habitat p N the crop margins. attractive as nesting cover. and the effects of predation have A also contributed. G y N I e M r R

A GUIDELINES OVERLEAF F G HOW CAN I ENCOURAGE GREY PARTRIDGES? NESTING HABITAT • You can provide seed food throughout the • Cultivate stubbles as late as possible and On grassland winter at a low cost with a one-acre plot of avoid spraying off. This helps provide • Field margins/buffer strips or • Growing spring-sown arable fodder crops or beetle banks in cereal fields. wild bird cover. Establish a seed-rich crop in important winter feeding habitat. small plots of wild bird cover will benefit grey the spring and maintain it for two years. Kale • Create grass margins around arable fields as partridges in areas of largely agricultural and quinoa are particularly useful nesting habitat for grey partridges. Include grassland. The crop and stubble provide SUMMER FOOD components in the mix. species such as cocksfoot in the seed mix to abundant seed food. • Insects for the chicks from create tussocks. After the margins are • Undersown cereal crops will provide seed established, cut only in the autumn once low-input cereals or On arable land food through the winter. The lack of conservation headlands. every three years. Avoid cutting all margins in • Only use pesticides when the infestation cultivation in the autumn as well as the same year. exceeds the economic threshold. Try to avoid restrictions on herbicide use will produce • Use beetle banks in fields greater than 16 using broad-spectrum insecticides after 15 many insects and provide winter cover. WINTER FOOD hectares to provide nesting cover and March. These remove beneficial insects and • Fence off margins of up to six metres around overwintering habitat for beneficial insects. • Seeds from over wintered spiders that move into the crops in spring. The improved grass fields and leave these uncut, Beetle banks are two-metre grass strips stubbles or wild bird loss of this food source is particularly ungrazed and unsprayed. Graze or cut in seed mixtures. through the middle of arable fields. Such damaging to grey partridges. September every two-to-three years. Avoid fields can be managed as one unit, as the • Adopt conservation headlands. Avoid cutting all margins in the same year. Select headland is still cropped. spraying the edges of cereal fields with margins that are adjacent to existing See also the RSPB Scotland insecticides or herbicides targeted at broad- permanent margins. advisory sheets on: leaved weeds. This enables beneficial insects • Research by the Game Conservancy Trust and chick food for grey partridges to survive. shows that legal control of predators such as • Wild bird seed mixtures • Consider using reduced herbicide application carrion crows, magpies and foxes can help to • Over wintered stubbles rates, to check weeds. maintain grey partridge numbers. • Conservation headlands • Arable field margins • Beetle banks

Contacts and advice The best way to help grey partridges on your farm/croft is to walk the ground with an adviser and discuss options for management and funding.

For answers to all of your farm wildlife enquiries, visit www.farmwildlife.info

RSPB Scotland is part of the RSPB, the UK charity that speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us You can get further information on this and other ways of managing your farm for wildlife from: keep it that way.

Front cover picture by Roger Wilmshurst (rspb-images.com) The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity: The Advisory Manager, SAC (Scottish Agricultural NFU Scotland, Head Office, Rural Scottish Natural Heritage, England and Wales no. 207076, RSPB Scotland, Dunedin House, College), King's Buildings, West Centre - West Mains, Ingliston, Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Scotland no. SC037654 25 Ravelston Terrace, Edinburgh Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JG Midlothian EH28 8LT Tel: 0131 472 4000 Inverness, IV3 8NW 775-0140-09-10 EH4 3TP Tel: 0131 311 6500 Tel: 0131 535 4000 Tel: 01463 725000