A PASSION FOR GROUSE: AN ARTIST'S AND SPORTSMAN'S VIEW. By Simon Gudgeon. Edited by Mike Barnes.

Gudgeon (Simon).

ISBN 10: 0952638045 / ISBN 13: 9780952638049

Published by Ptarmigan Publishing. Devizes, Wiltshire. 2001, 2001

About this Item

ALL UK PARCELS SENT TRACKED! ALL OVERSEAS PARCELS SENT AIRMAIL, TRACKED! (S/hand, Hardcover, 2001). 2001 1st edition. Large 4to (225 x 292mm). Pp161. Colour paintings by the author, pictorial end-papers. Red boards, spine titled in gilt. Very good in slightly rubbed dust-wrapper. Paintings and sketches of grouse in their natural habitat accompanied by text by the author. Observations of grouse inside and out from many years' experience. Chapters include: The red grouse - a year on the moor, the flight of the grouse, grouse disease, 'ageing' grouse; Habitat - the creation of moorland, the decline of moorland, the heather beetle, the restoration of heather moorland, moorland grazing, highland cattle versus sheep, moorland flora; Gamekeeping - predator control, heather burning, rearing and releasing grouse, grouse counts; The sporting season - falconry, 'over dogs' or dogging, and walked-up grouse, driven grouse; Moorland wildlife; Recipes. .

Seller Inventory # 40874

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A PASSION FOR GROUSE: AN ARTIST'S AND SPORTSMAN'S VIEW. By Simon Gudgeon. Edited by Mike Barnes.
• Publisher: Ptarmigan Publishing. Devizes, Wiltshire. 2001
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0952638045
• ISBN 13: 9780952638049
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition

About this title

Synopsis

Conceived, written and illustrated solely by celebrated wildlife artist Simon Gudgeon and with all proceeds from sale being donated to The Game Conservancy Trust, A Passion for Grouse can be shared by anyone who cares about our country's unique wildlife. Conceived, written and illustrated solely by celebrated wildlife artist Simon Gudgeon and with all proceeds from sale being donated to The Game Conservancy Trust, A Passion for Grouse can be shared by anyone who cares about our country's unique wildlife. It examines the grouse moors - how they were formed, whats keeps them going - and their inhabitants; grouse, of course, but also many other creatures which share those apparently empty landscapes. And of course the role of man, without whom these expanses of austere beauty would not exist. The stars of the book, however, are without doubt the paintings. To illustrate this book Simon has produced a huge body of work: it ranges from large paintings such as magnificent watercolour of a covey streaming across the heather down to the simplest sketch of a hare. Perfectly capturing the flavour of the grouse moor and its inhabitants, this superb collection celebrates both a unique bird and a habitat that is increasingly coming under threat.

From the Inside Flap

There has been much debate recently as to whether grouse moor management, involving the culling of predators and heather burning, is beneficial to ground nesting birds other than red grouse.
Britain's moorland supports a range of breeding birds, some of which such as the golden plover and dunlin have suffered serious declines since the 1970s. As well as the characteristic upland species, the moorland fringe supports increasingly important populations of species such as the snipe, grey partridge and skylark which have declined automatically on lowland farmland.
The Otterburn Project has been designed to quantify the impact of predator control by gamekeepers on the breeding success and spring breeding densities of red grouse, other moorland birds and birds in adjacent marginal farmland.
The study is addressing this subject using an experimental approach on four intensively monitored sites in Northumberland. This is complemented by data gathered from extensive pairs of sites receiving similar treatment, in different geographical locations. The study will document the effect on the breeding birds of typical predator control efforts by moorland gamekeepers in this unique project which involves keepers and scientists working side by side.