America Signal Crayfish gathered near Bath. Beautiful cold with aioli (Mayo with lemon and garlic). These are not native and have a significant environmental impact. They carry a virus that kills our native white clawed crayfish. They eat fish eggs and erode river banks by burrowing into them. But they taste wicked! I applied for a license to collect them from the environmental agency to collect them and got permission from the farmer. Care must be taken when handling signals. They are amazing escape artists and can easily escape to invade other water ways. I've had one escape from a bucket before, whilst in my car. It managed to climb down the gap between my seats.

I find the meat quite soft and this firms up when you refrigerate them. So I find them best served cold with Aioli.

- 3 free-range egg yolks

- 4 cloves garlic

- ½ lemon juice only

- salt and freshly ground black pepper

- 150ml/5fl oz extra virgin olive oil

- mustard

- saffron optional

Blend all ingredients, except the olive oil, in a food processor. Pour the oil into the blender in a steady stream, until it forms a thick sauce. The mixture, once blended, should be vibrant and yellow in colour. To vary the flavour, add a little mustard or some saffron. If you'd like your mayonnaise runnier, add a couple of tablespoons of hot water.

Here is the application form to apply for a license to trap or remove American Signal Crayfish:

http://www.defra.gov.uk/aahm/files/Form-CR1.pdf

Rules for catching crayfish:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/recreation/fishing/38045.aspx

A guide to catch crayfish:

http://a0768b4a8a31e106d8b0-50dc802554eb38a24458b98ff72d550b.r19.cf3.rackcdn.com/geho0310brvf-e-e.pdf

Here are a selection of the most common shotgun gauges (bores). From left to right - 12 Bore, 16 Bore, 20 Bore, 28 Bore and the .410

I use 12 bore, 20 bore and .410

The 12 Bore is very versetile. I shot any from 28 gram cartridges, right up to 46 gram cartridges when I am shooting on the foreshore.

The 20 Bore is my wife's gun. When she uses it, she use 21-24 gram cartridges to reduce the recoil. I use it occasionally for a change and put 28-32 gram cartridges through it. Although I struggle with it as it only weighs 6lb 6oz. I find it difficult to maintain a consistent swing with such a light gun.

My preference is a heavier 12 bore weighing around 8lbs.

I've got two .410s which I use for dog training or when I require a quiet shotgun.

I use cartridge weights from 12.5 gram up to 19.5 grams, depending on whether I need to shoot quietly and discretely.

A dormouse in a box made by my mothers late partner. The box is probably 15 years old and they are still being used.

We manage the grey squirrels in this wood to try to reduce the competition to the dormice. They are just hanging on in the wood.

Many have never seen a dormouse. They are probably my favourite native mammal, with their orange fur and big black eyes. They rely mainly on coppiced hazel to survive.

I love them!

Grouse Shooting over pointers in Scotland. It's doesn't get much wilder or remote than this.

We've shot with Dick Bartlett several times. Dick has got a few moors on and around Ben Rhinnes overlooking the Moray Firth.

To me this is as wild as it gets. Often just you, a close friend and the dog handler. You get amazing views and a true sense of isolation. At times you are at significant altitude.

It involves a significant amount of walking. You never know where the grouse will be be, how many will be flushed or what direction they will fly.

If the wind is up the grouse fly faster than anything you can imagine.

The hills in August are covered in a blanket of pink heather for as far as you can see. It's such a beautiful place and experience!

When the dog points, you need to get to it as fast as you can or the grouse will run. You slowly walk forwards, one of you either side of the pointer. Full of anticipation, never knowing how many grouse will jump up, from the short pink heather. You cannot understand how they can hide from you, when the heather is so short. But you cannot see them.

Sudden they call, the covey lifts and accelerate away at crazy speeds. You lift the gun with instinct, pick out a grouse and have a go. It really is very exciting.

It can be hard work, but well worth the effort.

http://www.britishmoorlands.com/

As I have explained in my previous post. Jemima our only surviving duck from the fox attack died of her injuries, after a couple of days. She was our black runner duck and our favourite.

Molly my 3 year old went up the garden to feed them last week, as she always does. I heard a frantic banging at the back door, only to see her destraught little face. She said Daddy where's Jemima gone, I can't find her. It brought tears to my eyes, although I hid this from her. Jemima was her duck.

So I located a friend of mine who had 3 young Miniture Appleyards and brought them home as a surprise.

I've mended the window of the duck house which the fox had chewed out. I've painted it in chilli oil, as you can see from the picture. I hope this stops him eating the house for the time being.

I have also re-unforced the wire with heavy gauge welded wire mesh. See below.

The fox has now eaten it's was through 2 of our houses now. It killed all of our ducks and one of our quail.

Our neighbour also lost their rabbit that they kept in their garage.

A fox also broke one of our panes of glass to our greenhouse to take a pair of duck that I had placed in their overnight. These were wild duck that I had shot for the table.

He had now started to did huge holes underneath the pens. So sadly I will have to remove him.

Some of the locals feed these urban foxes and they grow to abnormal sizes and exhibite completely unnatural behaviour. Feeding wild animals is never a good thing in my opinion.

Another neighbour of mine also used to keep chickens but gave up, due to repeated fox attacks.

My children love their birds. Molly carries the chickens around, helps feed and clean them. It's really is a great for them.

This morning my neighbour came over. He had found one of my ducks in his garden. It was Jemima our black runner duck. She was alive, but with a hole torn out of her breast and not in a good way.

I went up to look at the coup and a Fox had punched out the Perspex glass window and then chewed through the wooden frame.

All the ducks had gone and are dead!

It's so so sad!!!!

RIP Mo, Tiny and Daisy!