According to recent pre-season red grouse counts carried out on moorland in Northern England and Scotland by scientists from the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust, this year’s red grouse season is going to be a record-beater.
On the eve of the Glorious Twelfth, the traditional start to the red grouse shooting season, the researchers report that despite suffering the harshest winter weather conditions for 30 years, red grouse have thrived.
This is particularly good for the conservation of precious heather moorland habitats as well as the economy in remote rural areas.
An independent report commissioned by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust and launched in Scotland today (11th August) shows that red grouse shooting generates at least £23.3 million for the Scottish rural economy per annum and supports over 1,072 full-time equivalent jobs.
Red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus), are a unique species as they are only found in Britain and Ireland. Red grouse are one of our most valuable gamebirds as they are among the fastest flyers in the world, reaching speeds of up to 100km/h, thus offering an exciting but difficult challenge.
Grouse live on the high lying moors of northern England and Scotland and are extremely hardy and well equipped to cope with harsh weather conditions. Living off heather shoots and wild berries, they are completely wild and cannot be reared artificially.
To maintain good stocks of this iconic species, their environment has to be maintained and managed sympathetically by moorland gamekeepers, who year-round ensure the heather is kept in optimum condition by rotational heather burning.
Seventy-five percent of the world’s heather is found in Britain. Moorland managed for red grouse forms one of the largest protected and precious kinds of habitats in England.
Gamekeepers also control generalist predators such as foxes and crows during the breeding season and a recent nine year study by the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (the Upland Predation Experiment), showed that this management for red grouse significantly benefits populations of golden plovers, curlews and lapwings which are in general decline elsewhere, and who breed three times more successfully on managed grouse moors than on other areas.
Dr Kathy Fletcher, a Senior Upland Scientist for the Trust in Scotland has been assessing the prospects on Scottish moors and is optimistic about her findings. She said, "The severe winter did not have as dramatic impact on red grouse as initially thought. In 2010 we found on average nearly two young grouse for every old one, suggesting grouse prospects may be similar, or even better at some sites, compared to last year as there is also a greater number of grouse breeding following last year’s production. Indeed some of the core sites counted by the GWCT have shown an impressive increase in grouse production and numbers, particularly on estates in the Monadhliath, Cairngorms and Tayside.
In northern England, Dr David Baines, Upland Research Director with the Trust said, "This year has been an extraordinary year for grouse in northern England, probably an all time record-setter by quite a margin. July 2010 densities have increased by 56% from July 2009 from an average of 187 birds per km across our 30 count sites to 292 birds per km2 this year.
Dr Baines, attributes the increase in density to better breeding success. He said, "We believe that birds entered the breeding season in good condition following low worm counts in autumn 2009. This was achieved in spite of the long snow bound winter, when many of the moors were abandoned by virtually all grouse and thus confirming the hardiness of the species. Birds appeared to breed earlier and chicks appeared to grow faster."
Restoring the balance – is an important policy document produced by the Trust that explains why the nation’s current approach to conservation isn’t working well enough. However, the reverse is the case on grouse moors where active management for red grouse is a shining example of a sustainable land use that is delivering wildlife.
Professor Nick Sotherton, Director of Research with the Trust explains, "Much of the heather moorland across Europe has been lost or seriously degraded over the last century, but in Britain the rate of decline of this threatened habitat has been much reduced because landowners and gamekeepers manage it for grouse. Our studies confirm that grouse shooting makes a huge contribution to nature conservation in the uplands and the financial investment in moorland management for grouse provides a highly sustainable form of land use."
