News

GROUSE STRONG DESPITE JUNE RAIN

9th August 2004

2004 Grouse Shooting Prospects from the Moorland Association

A good, but not record breaking, grouse shooting season is expected to get underway on 12th August, reported the Moorland Association today (9th August).

During April and May, when red grouse lay their eggs on the moors, exceptionally dry, warm weather gave most moorland managers and owners reason to be optimistic. However, newly hatched chicks had to endure unseasonably cold air temperatures with frequent heavy downpours of rain for much of June. In a few localised areas, the vulnerable young of ground nesting birds were pelted with hailstones causing survival rates to drop.

Despite the roller-coaster of fortunes, most grouse moors in England, following favourable recent ‘grouse counts’, will sustain shooting this year with moderate to good bags expected –but overall down by 10-20% on last year.

Ben Bradshaw, Minister for Nature Conservation said; I recently visited a grouse moor in Weardale and saw for myself the enormous all-year-round effort that moorland keepers put into managing the habitat for red grouse. This management has huge knock on benefits for a range of important and rare wildlife, for example merlin, lapwing, curlew and black grouse. It also maintains a treasured and globally rare landscape whilst boosting the rural economy – particularly in some of England’s remotest areas. There is a lot more to August 12th than generally meets the eye!”

Said Simon Bostock, Chairman of the Moorland Association: “As grouse are a completely wild bird, moor owners carry out careful counts prior to the start of the season to make sure that they have a shootable surplus of birds – leaving enough healthy young stock for following years. Strong populations are very good news for moor owners and the local economy that relies on income from shooting customers. No matter how good your keepering may be, each year’s weather is a huge factor in a grouse moor’s success.” Contd/2

Grouse Prospects/2

The Northern Pennines, centred around Stanhope, saw large broods hatching during May, which have since diminished through cold and rain. Keepers have observed that the hatching season has lasted much longer with a clutch of seven eggs hatching as late as July 24th. Grey partridge stocks have also suffered due to the weather just at the time of hatching. Shooting in North Northumberland around Newcastle has been cancelled. In contrast, on the Western edge of the North Pennines centred around Alston, reports are good with numbers potentially matching last year’s moderate season. The heather is in very good condition, providing food and cover for the grouse.

Numbers in the Yorkshire Dales seem to be divided between good to the north of the A684 and patchy and disappointing to the south – even though this area was not badly affected by June rain. Nidderdale moors reported a very strong start to the breeding season with high hopes of a very good year. Prospects, however, have fallen back and another average year is expected. The North York Moors are looking good, and even up on last year. Here, the Merlin - Britain’s smallest bird of prey - is also noted to have done very well this year.

In the South Pennines, to the west of Bradford and Sheffield, numbers are generally down by 10% or more with very variable reports from individual moors. Grey partridge are reported to have suffered badly due to the weather, despite moorland managers doing everything to encourage them on the moorland edges. In Derbyshire, the indications are on the whole good, as birds have not been adversely affected by the weather. However, overall bags are not expected to be as good as last year, but some moors are confident of better than average season.

In the West of the country the weather has been most severe. In West Cumbria, early nests and broods in May were completely destroyed by very heavy localized rain – two inches in two hours – and shooting has been cancelled. In Lancashire stocks remain low, but show some signs of improvement in places this year. Wet weather has added to a general downward trend in grouse shooting prospects for the county.


Contd/3

Grouse Prospects /3

The rare hen harrier has maintained its breeding success this year, although its range has been completely contained to Moorland Association members’ land on the Bowland Fells, Lancashire. Although grouse populations are expected to go up and down through a seven year cycle, populations in the Bowland Fells have been depressed for eight years. Hen harriers feed on red grouse and there is concern that, when grouse stocks are low, too many hen harriers in one area could undermine the valuable management of grouse moors with all its benefits.

- Ends –

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Note to editors

75% of the remaining heather moorland in the world is found in Britain and forms the habitat for the red grouse – found no where else but the UK. Grouse shooting is responsible for conserving both heather and red grouse. It is the aim of the Moorland Association to ensure that this traditional management of heather continues for future generations.

74% of Special Protection Areas (designated for bird populations) are grouse moors.

90% of all black grouse left in England (a red data and Biodiversity Action Plan species) are found on the fringes of moors managed for red grouse shooting.