Wind of change as campaign to help save Scotland's black grouse is stepped up
Scotland’s rare black grouse are set to benefit from the power of the wind.
Cash generated by wind farms will be used to help safeguard the threatened species, which is the fastest declining bird in the UK.
Research shows populations of black grouse have crashed dramatically in recent years, raising fears they could end up in the same predicament as their larger cousin, the capercaillie – which is facing imminent extinction in Scotland.
Black grouse were once widespread across the UK, but are now on the International Union for Conservation of Nation (IUCN) Red List of threatened species. Estimates suggested there were around 380 males living in south-east Scotland in 2011, but that figure had plummeted to 78 survivors just seven years later.
Now efforts are being stepped up in a bid to help protect the birds’ habitat in the Borders region. A grant of £9,500 has been awarded to the Southern Uplands Partnership to monitor black grouse over the next two years. The work will allow mapping of key lekking sites, where male birds strut and display their feathers during annual courting rituals.
The information will be used to help ensure future developments in the area, such as new forest planting and wind farms, do not jeopardise the most important habitats for the iconic species.
Pip Tabor, partnership manager for the Southern Uplands Partnership, said: “The lekking rituals of this charismatic upland species are one of nature’s great spectacles. However, black grouse populations in the south of Scotland remain extremely vulnerable.
“The funding for this new survey will enable us to ensure that new plantations take key black grouse habitat into consideration and ensure that we don’t see further erosion of this important species.”
Studies suggest a balance between open moorland and woodland at key locations is essential for black grouse populations
to thrive. The survey data will be important with regard to the ongoing expansion of conifer plantations across the Southern Uplands.
While newly planted commercial woodlands can provide excellent black grouse territory, the birds are displaced once the tree canopy closes and shades-out their favoured
ground vegetation. To assist the survival of black grouse populations in these forested landscapes, interconnected areas of suitable moorland need to be retained.
Earlier this month dog walkers were asked to take care around the Cairngorms National Park this spring to allow capercaillie to thrive.
Sensitive to disturbance, capercaillie gather in specific areas of pinewood to mate each spring and if the birds are disturbed they might not breed at all that year.
Carolyn Robertson, Cairngorms Capercaillie project manager, said: "As locals, we've been taking advantage of the amazing trails on our doorstep, and we're looking forward to visitors returning to enjoy the National Park once restrictions ease. But this time of year is especially critical for the survival of groundnesting birds like capercaillie and we all have a part to play in keeping them safe."