28th April 2012
The Black Grouse is a striking bird on the Red List of conservation concern. In 14 years the Welsh Black Grouse population has jumped from just 126 displaying males to 328 showing a rise of 38% in each of the last two years alone. Two thirds of the population is found around Ruabon Mountain which is owned by a Moorland Association member and managed by gamekeepers who carry out predator control and heather management.
Captain Tim Bell, Manager of the Wynnstay Estate said: ‘We have been working in partnership with RSPB Cymru and CCW to manage Ruabon Moor since the late 1990s. Here we have seen a steady improvement in some of the key wildlife characteristics and habitats of this moor.
He adds: ‘The combination of conservation and game management with keepering is working well here, with last year’s results good evidence of this. We also have a number of curlew breeding on the moor, and hope that other waders such as golden plover will re-establish themselves in the near future.
The improved fortunes of the bird has also meant that game management has helped the Welsh Government not only exceed its biodiversity target for 2015 of 270 displaying males, but meet it three years early.
Across England the story is similar with 95% of the surviving Black Grouse population directly correlated with the fringes of moorland actively managed by gamekeepers for its smaller cousin, the red grouse. Moorland Association members have planted over 1.1 million native trees in the ghylls and predators are controlled on thousands of additional acres on the moor edge to give the young chicks a chance to fledge.
