90 years and counting: historic citizen-science scheme calls on land managers to help red-listed grey partridge

And finally for this week: What a fantastic achievement.

90 years and counting: historic citizen-science scheme calls on land managers to help red-listed grey partridge - Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

A countrywide bird survey is using its 90th birthday to call on farmers and land managers to join and commit to supporting wildlife. Since 1933, the Partridge Count Scheme (PCS) run by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), has asked volunteers to count grey partridges twice a year and submit their results to a national database.

A partridge, a small dun and grey gamebird, in rough grass — grey partidge (image: pixabay)

“The future of the grey partridge rests in the hands of those who farm and manage our countryside, through the land management measures that they can implement,” says Neville Kingdon who runs the PCS. “Grey partridges face many of the same challenges as other farmland wildlife: food supply, nesting cover and the impacts of predation.”

The wild grey partridge, Perdix perdix, was once widespread but is now one of the UK’s fastest-declining bird species, with numbers having plummeted by 92% between 1967 and 2020 (according to the British Trust for Ornithology). This is bad news for wider farmland biodiversity, says Neville.

The Partridge Count Scheme also provides vital data to scientists and policymakers on long-term trends and the effect that positive game and habitat management can have on grey partridges, as well as providing practical guidance to farmers and game managers on supporting grey partridges.

Over 7,600 (36%) of the grey partridges recorded by the PCS in 2022 were in Eastern England, while Northern England counted 6,000 birds (28%). The population continues to hold on in many parts of Scotland but appears to be falling in the English Midlands and the South, with the 2022 autumn counts showing a decline in bird density.

Despite the very hot, dry summer, the 2022 autumn counts recorded a slight rise in total chick productivity (the ratio of chicks to adults counted). However, a closer look reveals a north-south variation: Scotland and northern England saw the highest productivity while the southern half of the country saw fewer young in broods.