Game on!

On one of my local walks the hedges have been trimmed and the fields ploughed and sown with winter cereals so it all looks too neat and tidy and surprisingly clean and clinical for the countryside. This impression is relieved now and then by an untrimmed hedgerow, spilling over with berries, and scattered old trees - relicts from a time when much of this landscape was more wooded. An unexpected delight is when I come across an area where arable field margins have been sown with plants to give cover and winter feed for pheasants and partridge. Clearly this is mainly connected with improving the fortunes of the local farm shoot, but many wild birds will benefit as well and, I have to say, I find the resulting vegetation strips quite beautiful - every bit as good as the flower borders we work so hard to cultivate in our gardens. Here is a mix, including Sorghum, Millet, Linseed, Quinoa and Triticale, that raises the spirits and should ensure that more local wild birds survive the coming winter. I'm not keen on shooting as a sport, but without it as the incentive how many farms would really go out of their way to provide for the wild birds? I'm becoming converted!