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Estates can count on gamekeeper Gary
EFFORTS to restore endangered grey partridges to the British countryside have led to Northumberland Estates receiving a top national award from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Garry Whitfield, head gamekeeper for the Alnwick Castle-based estate, received one of just four prestigious awards in the trust's 75th anniversary celebrations for the greatest number of counts undertaken and returned each spring and autumn.
The Partridge Count Scheme is one of the longest-running farmer-led monitoring schemes in Europe.
Started in the early 1930s, it has made an impressive contribution to partridge conservation and has become a hugely important catalyst in helping to restore grey partridges to the British countryside.
In the past 40 years, grey partridges have suffered a massive 86 per cent decline in this country.
But where members of the count scheme are managing the land specifically for grey partridge, there has been an encouraging 40 per cent increase in the grey partridge population.
Dr Nick Sotherton, director of research with the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, said: "If we are to achieve our Biodiversity Action Plan target then we need more farmers and gamekeepers counting their partridges.
"The motto of our scheme is 'everyone counts', and at the moment partridges are teetering on the edge.
"It is therefore vitally important that everyone does their bit and counts – even if they only have one or two birds."
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Weather for Northumberland
Friday 25 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
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Wind direction: North east
