Our Cheviot trips usually run from March/April to June, but tomorrow I’m on a mission to provide photo opportunities with grouse for two of our clients. I hadn’t been into the Cheviot valleys since the flooding of early September so I decided to make the most of the nice weather and head inland. A lot of the road is still showing the scars of the damage caused by the floods, but at least it was driveable. Huge numbers of Pheasant were scratting at the roadside, or sitting in the now bare bushes. Red Grouse were cackling away on the hillsides and eventually sitting out in the open, close to the road. Buzzards were hovering in their own lumbering way and the hills and valleys were illuminated by sublime sunlight as several patches of poor weather passed by. Probably best of all was that, after leaving the A697, I only saw 3 other people; all walking and in a position to appreciate the ever-changing landscape.
I diverted the journey home to include one of my favourite patches of moorland; with a remarkable panoramic view out over the sea it really is quite breathtaking. The hoped-for Hen Harriers and Short-eared Owls didn’t materialise – perhaps the small mammal population of the moor is in a cyclical trough? I don’t know, but the one thing I do know is that I’ll keep going back; with every confidence that I’ll once again be rewarded with the sight of these magnificent birds floating effortlessly over the heather.