A major conference aimed at spearheading the recovery of Grey Partridge populations in Britain is taking place in Cambridge later this year. ‘Back from the Brink’ is organised by the Game Conservancy Trust whose Grey Partridge Recovery Project, based on farmland at Royston in Hertfordshire, has succeeded in reversing the national trend of decline. The conference will share the results from the project which has resulted in numbers growing from 20 to 184 pairs in just four years! It will look at the history of the partidge’s decline and focus on issues like habitat management, food and predator control.
The recent history of the Grey Partridge in Britain is one of dramatic decline with a startling 86 per cent fall in population over the last 30 years, with modern agricultural practices playing a large part. Where farmers have adopted the Trust’s management recommendations there have been substantial increases in partridge numbers.
Dr Nick Sotherton, the Trust's director of research, said, “We hope that this national conference, which is the first conservation event of its kind, will act as a catalyst for a wider recovery in grey partridge numbers across the country. Let's put science into action and restore this iconic bird."
'Back from the Brink' is a one-day conference that takes place on Friday 5 October 2007 at the Wellcome Trust in Cambridge. For further details email: partridgeconference@gct.org.uk or go to http://www.gct.org/
Photo: Grey Partridge by Laurie Campbell
