Scottish chef Nick Nairn got the Glorious Twelfth off to a bang today as he joined a party on a Perthshire estate for the start of the grouse season.The renowned cook was amongst tourists from France, estate staff and gamekeepers at Crieff’s Abercairny Estate – which is part of the Tayside & Central Moorland Group

Grouse counting is underway on Scotland’s sporting estates ahead of the Glorious Twelfth – and leading agents and gamekeepers are forecasting a positive season for the sector.Moorland estates across Scotland are gearing up for the start of the shooting season and are carrying out counts, an essential activity in order to gain an accurate measure

The curlew is getting back on song on Scottish grouse moors. Scottish gamekeepers have been taking action to help the threatened curlew and are reporting a healthy number of sightings on moors across the country. Wader conservation training, conscious moorland management and favourable weather conditions this year have all played their part in helping to

The secret lives of ‘beasties’ have been brought to life for a group of Strathearn nursery pupils, with a little help from some resourceful gamekeepers.Staff at Crieff Primary School Nursery were thrilled by the curiosity of pupils to a wormery project and decide to use social media to seek help in ‘upsizing’ to a full-scale

Gamekeeping – New recruits in high demand Interest in gamekeeping as a vocation is flying high according to Scotland’s leading rural colleges.According to reports from lecturers at North Highland College (UHI), SRUC Elmwood Campus (Cupar) and Borders College, gamekeeping and wildlife management courses are experiencing strong demand from sporting estates, grouse in particular, for recently

Heather on FireOK Sporting estates and gamekeepers across Scotland today launched a new initiative – Heather on FireOK! – to raise public awareness of why Scotland’s heather-clad hills are burning.Heather on FireOK! has been launched to demonstrate why muirburn – the controlled burning of heather – is necessary to protect habitat and bird species. Muirburn

The Scottish Moorland Group appealed today for better understanding of the culling of mountain hares which is carried out to ensure protection of species and habitat.Legal culls have been undertaken recently but their portrayal by some as being unnecessary may have led to misunderstanding and concern amongst the public reading such reports. Tim Baynes, director

According to new reports from sporting agents and rural hotels, shooting days booked and occupancy rates in most parts of the country held firm despite many estates encountering a disappointing season and having to make cancellations to their programme due to the unfavourable weather over the breeding season. Despite the rain and wind on the

The next time you’re enjoying a refreshing gin & tonic remember to give thanks to Scotland’s gamekeepers for they are at the forefront of helping to protect and nurture the juniper plant which is used to flavour gin.A recent report published by PlantLife Scotland, a conservation organisation protecting the UK’s wild flowers, plants and fungi,

A NIGHT-time partnership between gamekeepers and conservationists in the Lammermuir Hills is helping throw light on the secrets of the mountain hare.Mountain or ‘blue’ hares are native to Britain, with 99 per cent of the UK population found in Scotland. Evidence suggests mountain hares are declining in Scotland, although research from the James Hutton Institute