What a great start to the 2013 season. With some due diligence and a bit of patience I was rewarded with this excellent young buck.
As a hobby stalker who has a limited population to manage I'm always careful at the start of the season. Yes part of me is keen to get out as the opening of the season tends to coincide with Spring getting into full swing and I can start to look forward to summer with evenings out after work absorbing the countryside at its best whilst trying to successfully outwit a buck or two. However rushing out and shooting the first Buck you see is a recipe for disaster. If he is a mature buck you will not be allowing him the opportunity to past his genes on at the rut, removing him will also allow younger bucks into his territory who are the worst culprits for fraying and if he's of trophy consideration its more than likely he's still got some velvet remaining on his antlers which will limit any scoring.
Regardless of his age it was still a very memorable stalk I had the easterly winds against me plus a boggy paddock to navigate to get into range, so when the opportunity finally presented itself for a safe shot I was ecstatic. Even now after shooting numerous deer I still get a little twinge of the 'buck fever' which only reminds me why I remain so passionate about this sport.
But as all will tell you taking the shot is only one part of the story with the best still to come, the reward of fresh venison which now resides in my freezer.

The fruits of a good stalk cannot be beaten. This is a haunch of wild Muntjac I cooked for the family for Sunday lunch today.
The recipe was by Mike Robinson, taken from a copy of the Field from last year which I have used half a dozen times and is a current favourite of mine.
The haunch is butterflied and then marinated for 1/2 a day using garlic, lemon, chilli, parsley, oregano and olive oil blended together. Grilled on a medium heat for 21 minutes turning every 3 and then rested for a further 10. It produces the most tender and succulent meat that has everyone coming back for more.
 

This haunch came from a Buck I shot last November, who gave me the run around for quite a while and really required me to figure out a strategy based on his habits in order to succeed.

The Buck had become interested in a small field of maize which had failed to establish so the farmer had not bothered to harvest it - deer heaven. However, there was a small passage between the field and the adjoining wood which gave me little time to see him as he made his way home.

After an early rise I made my way down to the wood and hid myself in the side of a hedge which gave me full view of the maize field and the adjoining wood. As a frost had fallen and there was a slight mist I least expected to find the Muntjac already out and on his way home post breakfast, so I was extremely suprised when I caught the movement of him to my left hand side.

Typically, like most Muntjac he was not stopping so I quickly got ready on the sticks and then shouted out which was sufficent for him to stop long enough from me to take the shot. He dropped on the spot and I was estatic. After a quick gralloch, I was heading home for breakfast generously rewarded for my efforts.

It was cold, the waders leaked and, to be honest we were the only prats to be out in what should have been shorts and hankerchief weather but, in the prolonged cold snap ended up being beanies and as many layers as possible.

The targets were brown shrimp - caught in 50-75cm of water on a spring tide off Weymouth's famous sandy beach. Having bought my father and I a 4 foot net each from Hastings Angling (£35 each) we spent a few intrepid but not unpleasant hours patrolling parallel to the shoreline - removing the odd undersize dab, crab and weed but pocketing some plump shrimp at the same time. The numbers weren't there (April is a prime month but the season must be delayed) but enough gathered to fend off the banter from the onlookers as well as providing a decent starter for 4 with garlic mayo the ideal accompaniment.

Caladail along with its three sister lochs is tucked away in a fold of limestone in the far North West of Scotland. The limestone on which they sit make for sublime fly fishing. Unlike the acidic, peat bog lochs and lochans  which cover the West Coast – the fast growing fish in these lochs enjoy a  rich aquatic, alkaline, environment with bountiful insect life and hatches. Until I fished the limestone lochs, fishing on the west coast was about the scenery rather than the trout. On Caladail and its sisters – it’s all about the trout.

The water is so gin clear on the limestone lochs you can see a bed of weed 20 feet below the surface as you drift on the wind. On neighbouring Croispol I have seen the flash of a fishes mouth at 20 yards as it turns on a fly 6 inches below the surface. Black-headed gulls circle and swoop to pick off the hatching Olives, while trout snap at them from below. You won’t see this on a southern reservoir, its flyfishing magic.

I was out on Caladail one June afternoon with a good wind blowing. Unfortunately it had been so strong in the morning we hadn’t managed to get out. The downwind shore was lined with foam, full of shucks from last nights buzzer hatch. I was fishing with black thread buzzers – a southern reservoir tactic  not suited to such strong winds and was just about to change to more traditional Scottish patterns, when the rod was virtually torn out of my hand. My heart was in my mouth during the powerful fight that followed – I’d come a long way to experience this and I savoured every moment.  I soon netted a beautiful fin perfect, yellow bellied 2.5 lb wild brown trout which signalled the start of a hatch that continued for the next 2 hours or so. A further 5 fish followed all between 1.5-2.5lb, making this the best days fishing I’ve ever had in Scotland.

I've just swapped a muntjac leg for some home grown honey and eggs. Awesome!

My family began our adventures into chicken keeping late last year, with the purchase of 5 bantam hens from a local garden centre. Purchasing without much clue at what we were doing we selected two black Silkie’s, a light brown Silkie with a spectacular hair do and two white Light Sussex, all were purchased mostly on how they looked. 

Very quickly some of our mistakes began to show. Our coop and run was purchased for us, and the run especially was obviously inadequate, both in size and design. Having to bend down and lean into the attached run to place the food and water was not ideal and the small size left very little room for our girls to exercise or scratch about on the short lived grass. The house although sufficient for the time being wasn’t designed to be easy to clean, and we had our doubts about its suitability.

Almost immediately we began work on creating a bigger run for the hens. After much discussion, we settled on a 6’ high fence forming a large square at the bottom of the garden, it took a lot of work, but the benefit was huge. There is nothing like watching the hens happily run around their run and scratting in the ground. Watching the hens run around and forage makes the already unpleasant idea of chickens kept in cages one that just doesn’t make any sense. 

The new run was later improved upon by a purpose built coop, one large enough that we could accommodate a growing flock and tall enough that we could walk in. Being able to walk into the coop greatly helps with cleaning, and it’s nice to be able to nip in on an evening and watch all the hens settling down on their perches. 

The next hurdle we had to overcome was our broody hens. A broody hen is one that wants to hatch her eggs and will remain in the nest box, not laying eggs herself and denying the use of the nest to over hens who are still laying. Its has serious consequences for the hen because stubborn hens will remain in the nest hardly eating and drinking for weeks even months, loosing condition, as without a cockerel to fertilize their eggs there eggs will never develop, so there is no natural trigger to stop the broodiness. Unfortunately for us out of our first five hens, three of those the Silkie Bantams were considered the most broody prone hen you can get!

The first time we fell soft and bought in some fertilized eggs from the Internet, which our Silkie happily sat on raising us four out of the six adorable Rhode Island Red chickens. Not long into the process another of our Silkie’s decided she wanted to be broody, and with an order of five commercial hybrid hens already complete to prop up egg numbers, we didn’t have the room, nor were we ready for another brood of chicks. We decided that this time we would have to curb her from being broody, promising to give her a chance at raising her own chicks at some point in the future. It was a simple enough process, but on which we didn’t look forward to. The idea is to confine the broody hen away from nesting materials and after a short period, which has so far not lasted longer than three days and nights she snaps out of her broodiness and is undistinguishable from the rest of the flock, happily foraging about rather than being sat in the nest box all day.

Since those early days we’ve gone through the process numerous times, and have now come to a point where we will be passing on some of our Bantams to a family member to lower our rate of having to deal with the broodiness, and to make room for larger fowl who will lay the size of eggs you would expect to see in the supermarket. We will be keeping just two of our Silkies who are family favourites, and intent to use them for what they are good at, being broody and wanting chicks J The idea is that when we are ready to bring in some fresh chickens we will have one of our inevitably broody hens raise them up for us, as naturally as possible. Having raised a cockerel from our last batch of fertilized eggs, we are now able to raise our own eggs, without buying in, and have another Silkie happily sitting on a clutch of eggs now.

We the addition of the Commercial Hybrids who happily lay on average one egg per hen every day, we have a plentiful supply of eggs. Not wanting any to go to waste we began selling some from the house, and we now can’t keep up with demand. We are often having to turn people away, which is unfortunate but we don’t sell the eggs at a loss and need to keep some back for ourselves. 


It truly is a wonderful experience raising chickens, but there are some bumps in the road that it helps to be aware of before you begin. Chickens come in a wide variety of sizes, and may lay an average of one egg per week or six, it’s important to consider what you want out of your chickens and to select a breed that is appropriate for your needs. After breed selection you need to make sure you have all of the supplies you need to take care of them, they’ll need a coop, which is their house, and will use it for shelter during storms if you don’t have a separate shelter. Unless you have a secure garden where you can let them run around all the time, you’ll need an enclosed run to keep them safe from predators and to give you peace of mind whilst you’re not home. Laying hens require a laying pellet or mash, and a supply of grit to aide digestion and to give them a calcium boost to help them form strong egg shells. All of these supplies are readily available. If in doubt consult the many resources on chicken keeping online, such as Poultry Keeper UK.

It’s not expensive to look after chickens, but buying the coop and setting up a protected run can add up, you also need to be aware of how many additional treats you are supplying your hens, all of those cabbages and bought in snacks you can buying for them soon increase your costs.

We encourage everyone to give raising their own chickens a go; the rewards are definitely worth the work and expense.

Wednesday evening and out stalking for the fifth time this year. I'm training to be a competent deerstalker and I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time with my mentor a very experienced and qualified deer manager.
 The evening was drawing in but the light was very good and conditions ideal for watching the woods and all it's inhabitants. We had been quietly observing for several hours, seeing buzzards mating and plenty of rabbits and magpies, when in the corner of the second field the hind quarters of a deer appeared. We watched for several minutes as the buck grazed into the wind. It was moving slowly away from our position and not presenting at a good angle for a clean shot. We assessed the condition and size and agreed that if the shot became viable I would take it. After several more minutes, that felt like an age, the shot was on. On my first buck this made me concentrate very hard so as to do the best I could for this buck if I were to take the shot. When we were comfortable I took the shot and we watched and waited. In just a few brief seconds we confirmed a clean kill. Then I started to feel very responsible for the buck and the care of it as I started to learn more about field preperation.
It is difficult to explain the feeling of attachment and responsibility but it is all very important to gain an insight into how this deer interacted with its environment. He was around 7 years old with malformed antlers. This could have been from birth or an injury when young. Several other features could also have contributed to its malformation. This buck was towards the end of his feeding life and teeth showed signs of wear.
I know that during the stalk and after I did as much as I could to learn and gain valuable experience in managing deer and this was truly a privilege to be a part of.
This was my first Roe buck and as a 7 point malformed it's one I will always remember.

I've got a dozen quails eggs in the incubator. Fingers crossed in 17 days we will see if it has worked!

My other passion is wild camping!

Woodcock shooting at Plas Alltyferin Estate. Beautiful Estate with the stunning River Cothi running through its grounds. With its deep wooded valleys it really is an exquisite place! Informal, walked up shooting for the truly wild and elusive woodcock. Dai the keeper is also a legend!

http://www.alltyferin.co.uk/