To spay or not to spay? It’s a question that faces most of us who own or work bitches, and it’s one that I’ve changed my mind on in recent…
David Tomlinson
Grey partridges
Q) Here in the US, our wild turkey population was virtually wiped out, but has now been successfully restored. Though the initial re-introductions were unsuccessful because gamefarm stock was released,…
What’s in your dog’s dinner?
The importance of reading labels on low-quality dried dog foods that often contain little nutrition
Sporting Answers: LOUSE FLIES ON SWIFTS
Q) Several pairs of swifts breed under the eaves of our house every year. This year we rescued a young bird that was grounded, and then successfully launched it into…
The Assured Breeder Scheme
David Tomlinson revises his opinion of the Kennel Club's breeding scheme
Small tortoiseshells
Q) After two summers when I hardly saw a single small tortoiseshell butterfly, they are suddenly back in good numbers. What caused their disappearance, and their welcome return? R. COLLINS…
My dog’s breeder says she lets her bitches eat the afterbirths!
Can you please settle an argument. My dog’s breeder says she always lets her bitches eat the afterbirths when pups are born. I think this is pretty gruesome. What is…
The myth of springer fitness
A new survey may reveal health weaknesses in English springer spaniels
RSPB: Control that dare not speak its name
The RSPB's secret predator control regime
Style: they either have it or they don’t
Style is judged as an essential part of setter trials across Europe, but not every dog has it
Return of the osprey
Q) I read recently that the osprey was reintroduced to Scotland in the 1950s, but I have always believed that it re-established itself. What are the facts? P. DONALD By…
Barn-storming pigeon
Q) Is it unusual for woodpigeon to nest in barns? In recent years we have had an increasing problem with these birds trying to nest in our open cart lodge?…
Harris’s hawk
(Q) The theft of Rufus, the Harris hawk at Wimbledon this year, was widely reported. However, shouldn’t the bird be known as a Harris’s hawk rather than a Harris hawk?…
Bizarre feather rituals
Q) During some fine weather at the end of May, I was watching a starling in my garden. Its wings were spread and its tail was fanned out, and the…
Long-living crows
I live in south-east London, where carrion crows have an easy life. For the past five or six years I've seen what I believe to be the same individual, recognisable…
Fascinating Phantams
Q) I can recall once seeing a photograph of a “phantam” — a cross between a bantam hen and a cock pheasant — on the letters page of Shooting Times.…
Caldecote shoot
A day at a Purdey Gold Award-winning shoot
Gundogs
What happens when field triallingdogs become affected by disease?
A Lynx’s favoured prey
Q) If lynx were introduced to the Scottish Highlands what would their likely prey be and would they kill sheep? D. BARKER By email
Distinguishing birds
Q) During a skiing holiday in Finland last winter I saw a number of completely white grouse and I assumed they were ptarmigan. However, a Finnish friend told me that…