RESEARCHERS at the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), who are studying wild grey partridges – one of the fastest declining farmland birds – are hoping for a warm summer this year to repeat the breeding success of 2014.

The 2014 autumn counts revealed that that the total number of grey partridges recorded in its Partridge Count Scheme (PCS) increased by 4,730 birds - or 18 per cent - to a total of 33,250.

Dr Roger Draycott, from the GWCT, said: “For the first time in several years, we had excellent summer weather during the peak hatching season. Where farmers and keepers had put in place a good bundle of management measures, we are witnessing a fantastic turnaround in numbers.”

Once widely spread across the country with a population of more than a million breeding pairs, the wild grey partridge population has suffered a massive drop in numbers in the past 40 years because of land use changes and the indirect effect of pesticides.

Dr Draycott added: “Grey partridges can bounce back really quickly given the right conditions, particularly as they lay more eggs than any other bird in this country - as many as 18 eggs can be laid in one nest.”

There was a distinct regional variation in bird numbers across the country last autumn, with Northern England recording the highest average density of any region - up by 25 per cent compared to 2013.

For more information, visit gwct.org.uk/pcs or contact Neville Kingdon, Partridge Count Scheme co-ordinator on 01425 651066.