Business backed conservation award boost for rare Grey partridges

25/11/2008 13:44:39 Despite the atrocious wet summer weather for the past two years, the Arundel Estate in Sussex, owned by the Duke of Norfolk, has witnessed a dramatic 500 per cent increase in the number of rare grey partridges on the estate. In recognition of this considerable achievement the estate has been awarded a prestigious Grey Partridge Trophy for conservation.

The magnificent partridge trophy was presented to the estates head gamekeeper, Tom Goodridge, by Richard Thomas of BTF, sponsors of the award.

The South-East Grey Partridge Group, which was set up last year to boost grey partridge recovery in the region, attracts support from farmers and landowners located in Surrey, Sussex and Kent. To be eligible to win the grey partridge trophy, members of the group submit counts of grey partridges to the Trust in the spring of 2008 and this annual award is then presented to the estate or farm that has achieved most to conserve this iconic farmland bird.

Fastest declining farmland bird - 90% decline
The wild grey partridge is one of our fastest declining farmland bird species. This once common bird has disappeared from large tracts of the countryside and its population has dropped from over a million pairs in the 1950s to just 75,000 in 2000. In an effort to reverse this decline the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust as lead partner for the grey partridge Biodiversity Action Plan, has set up regional groups across the country and runs a national grey partridge count scheme, which records the rise and fall of grey partridges.

Peter Thompson, Farmland Biodiversity Advisory with the Trust said, "The estate has been concentrating conservation efforts on wild grey partridges for a number of years and the latest count figures show how incredibly successful Tom Goodridge and his team have been in boosting the partridge population.

Year-round habitat
"In a year when many people were struggling to produce broods because of the appallingly wet summer, the estate has managed to substantially increase its population of partridges by creating year-round habitat for partridges such as nesting habitat, insect-rich areas for chicks and over-winter cover. I am delighted that the south-east trophy sponsored by BTF has been awarded to such a worthy winner.

For further information on the South-East Grey Partridge Group or to join the Trust's Partridge Count Scheme, please contact Neville Kingdon on 01425 651066.