5 Ways Grouse Moors Support Threatened Wildlife

The management of Britain's grouse moors is one of the most contentious topics in UK conservation. Debates are often passionate, polarized, and reduced to a simple "for or against" argument that generates far more heat than light. This public and political noise frequently obscures the complex ecological reality of these unique landscapes.

Beneath the controversy, however, a significant body of scientific research has been quietly accumulating. Decades-long experiments, detailed wildlife population studies, and peer-reviewed analyses paint a picture that is far more nuanced and, in many cases, more surprising than the headlines suggest.

This article explores five data-driven findings from long-term scientific studies that reveal the real-world effects of grouse moor management.

1. Without Predator Control, Ground-Nesting Birds Disappear Fast

The UK is facing a conservation crisis for its ground-nesting wading birds. Species like the Curlew, Golden Plover, and Lapwing - iconic inhabitants of our open landscapes - are experiencing precipitous national declines. While habitat loss is a factor, research on grouse moors points to another, more immediate driver: predation. The science shows that simply providing good habitat is not enough to save them.

The comprehensive Otterburn Upland Predation Experiment rigorously tested this. On moorland sites where gamekeepers controlled predators like foxes and crows, the breeding success of key wader species increased a staggering threefold.

More tellingly, wader populations on these managed sites grew by over 14% per year, while on otherwise identical but unmanaged sites, they declined by over 17% per year. This starkly illustrates the difference between a "source" population and a "sink."

The Langholm Moor Demonstration Project reinforced this finding; when gamekeepers left, wader populations collapsed, but when they returned, numbers recovered rapidly, with Curlew growing by 10% per year and Golden Plover by 16%.

Crucially, the intensity of management appears to be the key. The RSPB’s own Curlew Trial Management Project, which attempted to replicate these successes, failed to achieve significant improvements in nesting success or breeding numbers.

Researchers concluded this was because the trial could not match the intensive, year-round effort of professional gamekeepers, highlighting that the level of predator control on managed grouse moors is uniquely effective at reversing declines.

The evidence highlights a critical ecological reality: habitat quality alone is insufficient to support wader populations if predation pressure exceeds a critical threshold. The unmanaged sites, despite having similar vegetation, acted as "ecological sinks" where mortality outpaced recruitment.

2. Hen Harriers Can Thrive on Grouse Moors

While illegal persecution has impacted harrier populations in some areas, the science reveals that from a purely ecological standpoint, a well-managed moor is the ideal habitat for this magnificent raptor to breed.

The reason is twofold: high prey density and low nest predation. Managed moors support large numbers of grouse chicks and Meadow Pipits, providing an abundant food source. More importantly, the control of foxes - a major predator of harrier eggs and chicks - gives nests a much higher chance of success.

Data from Langholm Moor showed that the breeding success for Hen Harriers was two to three times higher during periods of active grouse management compared to unmanaged years when nests were frequently raided by foxes.

The recent Hen Harrier Brood Management Trial demonstrated this potential in action. Social science research indicates that the trial reduced the perceived conflict, leading to increased confidence among land managers and a reduction in illegal activity.

This helped unlock the moors' immense carrying capacity, with the English population surging to a 200-year high and fledging a record 141 chicks in 2023. Furthermore, fledglings from the trial had a 44% survival rate to the next breeding season - nearly double the 24% survival rate of other wild-reared birds.

This creates an "ecological trap" paradox: the habitat is highly attractive due to food availability, but historical persecution has turned these high-quality sites into mortality sinks. When that conflict is mitigated, the moors' immense ecological potential is unlocked.

3. Managed Moors Are a Fortress for the Mountain Hare

The Mountain Hare, a species of significant conservation concern, finds its primary UK stronghold on managed grouse moors. The difference in population density is not subtle; it is vast. Scientific analysis has shown that Mountain Hare abundance is dramatically higher on moors managed for driven grouse shooting compared to unmanaged areas.

The mechanisms driving this are the same ones that benefit ground-nesting birds. First, the control of key predators like the fox significantly increases the survival rate of young hares (leverets). Second, the practice of rotational heather burning creates a perfect mosaic of habitats. The young, nutritious heather shoots that regenerate after a fire provide a preferred food source, while adjacent patches of taller, older heather provide essential cover from avian predators like eagles.

While recent studies show that fully restored peat bogs can support the highest densities of hares (around 32 per km²), the data confirms that managed grouse moors (10-12 per km²) are dramatically better than unmanaged heathland, which supports the lowest densities at just 4.8 per km². This makes active management vastly superior to a "do nothing" approach for maintaining robust hare populations.

A GWCT study analyzing data from 2001 to 2017 found that Mountain Hare abundance indices were up to 35 times higher on areas managed for driven grouse shooting compared to walked-up or unmanaged moors.

4. Heather Contains Medicine That Protects Bumblebees 

One of the most unexpected findings links grouse moor management directly to the health of wild pollinators. The rotational burning of heather, often a point of controversy, creates a flush of floral resources that are vital for bees, especially late in the season. But the benefit goes far beyond simple nutrition.

A groundbreaking study by researchers at Royal Holloway and Kew Gardens made a remarkable discovery: the nectar of common heather (Calluna vulgaris) contains a unique natural compound called callunene. This compound was found to act as a powerful medicine, protecting bumblebees from a common and devastating intestinal parasite, Crithidia bombi.

This means that managed moorlands are not just a food source for pollinators; they are actively supporting bee health and resilience. By maintaining vast tracts of flowering heather, grouse moor management provides a landscape-scale prophylactic service for wild bee populations, a benefit that would be lost if the moors were to transition to grass or scrub.

The maintenance of extensive, flowering heather tracts on grouse moors is not just a caloric resource but a medicinal landscape essential for the health of wild bumblebee populations.

5. "Doing Nothing" Can Be Worse Than Active Management

In conservation, there is a common and appealing assumption that the best approach is to simply leave nature alone. The scientific evidence from the UK uplands challenges this idea, suggesting that for this specific, globally rare habitat, withdrawing management can lead to a rapid loss of biodiversity.

Total abandonment results in the relentless encroachment of scrub, which shades out the open ground needed by reptiles like the Adder and Common Lizard. Specialist moth communities dependent on the heathland biome also disappear. A common alternative, mowing, is also problematic. It creates a uniform "bowling green effect" and leaves behind a thick mat of "brash" that smothers vital mosses and offers poor habitat for reptiles and invertebrates.

Even from a climate perspective, abandonment is not a clear win. A 10-year study by the University of York found that while a well-managed burning cycle maintains peatland as a carbon sink, unmanaged plots with aging heather become net sources of carbon. For the specialist wildlife of the open moor, active management that creates a structural mosaic appears essential to hold back natural succession and prevent the loss of their fragile world.

The findings from the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project serve as a stark warning to policymakers: the removal of the economic driver (grouse shooting) and its associated management tools leads to a rapid collapse in the abundance of key biodiversity indicators, effectively turning a "source" population into a "sink."

A More Complex Picture

The scientific evidence reveals that the ecological reality of grouse moors is far more nuanced than the public debate often suggests. The data shows that active management, while controversial, provides critical benefits for a specific suite of the UK's most threatened upland wildlife.

The suppression of generalist predators and the maintenance of a heather mosaic create conditions that allow vulnerable species like the Curlew, Hen Harrier, and Mountain Hare to thrive, turning these landscapes into vital "source" populations in a wider landscape of decline.

This evidence demonstrates that removing this management without an equally active, well-funded alternative is likely to turn these biodiversity sources into sinks, resulting in significant species loss.

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