11th August 2015
AN EXPERIENCED bird ringer has found numbers of endangered owls on grouse moor areas in Perthshire are bucking national trends.
Neil Morrison claims a partnership between conservationists and gamekeepers is making the difference.
For two decades, the owl expert, licensed to ring birds by BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) Scotland, has counted numbers of various bird species in three neighbouring glens comprising grouse moor and farmland and said the short-eared owl population was among the strongest in the UK.
At least 18 pairs of the amber-listed birds of prey have bred in the past two years and kestrels, declining alarmingly across Britain, are thriving, with 11 breeding pairs recorded since 2014.
His communication with the gamekeeping staff has also recently allowed BBC Natural World programmers to film owls hunting.
The raptor specialist believes warring factions should learn to put differences aside so birdlife can be the winner and said he had reaped benefits from working with gamekeepers and landowners.
Owls have an amazing record of success in these three glens and it must be to do with land management by gamekeepers, as rats, stoats, weasels and foxes can be a problem, he explained.
The patchwork quilt of heather, created for grouse management, seems to be working for the short eared owls, to a lesser extent kestrels, and also for barn owls, said Neil Morrison.
Ronnie Kippen of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, one of the gamekeepers, explained there was a growing appetite among gamekeepers to work with bird experts willing to communicate and build trust rather than campaign.
