Black Grouse

[scolopax]

Not a bird which should really be shot nowadays but nice to read they have had a good breeding season:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-23825452

[wildfowler.250]

Would happily have them taken off the quarry list IF we could swap them for curlew..

[markbjones01]

I had a day walked up grouse shooting over my own dogs in north Yorkshire on Saturday gone, and saw quite a few black grouse (not shot at) . Despite having a days grouse shooting each year for the last 4 or 5 this was the first time ive ever seen them :-)

[Reece]

I don't think they need taking off the quarry list. To hear of them being shot is almost unheard of, and if and when numbers increase again, it's unlikely that they'd go back on - wildlife law in the UK is like a self locking snare in that whenever a species becomes protected, it stays protected.

 

But apparently there are problems with illegal trophy hunting at lek sites.

Edited August 26, 2013 by Reece

[wildfowler.250]

I don't think they need taking off the quarry list. To hear of them being shot is almost unheard of, and if and when numbers increase again, it's unlikely that they'd go back on - wildlife law in the UK is like a self locking snare in that whenever a species becomes protected, it stays protected.

 

But apparently there are problems with illegal trophy hunting at lek sites.

 

That's a good point. TBH I just want curlew back on the list...there's no shortage of them!

[JDog]

The dichotomy here is that if they were taken off the quarry list many people who do their best to provide a habitat for them may just give up. Why should they spend time, effort and money on a bird which they cannot shoot?

 

I have shot quite a few in my time and I have a pair of stuffed ones which I shot in my office right now. However if I was asked not to shoot them whilst grouse shooting I certainly would not.

[scotslad]

There's nothing like the curlews in my part off the country as there was 20-30 years ago when i was a boy.

 

There probably will be a few estates that do have a sustainable enough population to shoot small bags of black grouse as will have decent local populations.

 

Would be a shame if they ever came off the quarry list same as the grey partridge, there is a massive ammount of money spent on planting trees etc for the blacks yet the estates know they will never shoot them. Once something is off the list t will never go back on.

[scolopax]

Black grouse numbers crashed on the MOD training grounds in Northumbria, from being some of the highest in England to zero. The habitat was very good, mixed moorland plus lots of money had been spent planting small woodlands to supplement those already there naturally. BUT.....funding was withdrawn for the vermin control, and numbers plummeted due to the attention of foxes, carrion crows, stoats etc etc, it did not take very long for all the good work to be undone.

[scotslad]

Is that the Otterburn ranges?or is that further north again? I know the GCT fairly recently carried out a good predator study there althou not involving black grouse.

 

For those that don't know and very very breifly (really worth reading the report) 10year study took 4 big sized plots 2 controls (1 keepered full time, 1 not) and 2 plots that had 5 years off both keepered/unkeepered. Think on the unkeepered plots pretty much every bird was slowly becoming locally extinct not breeding succesfully enough to keep numbers up, yet within 2 or 3 years off keepering numbers of birds increased substantially althou dropped off very quickly when predator control stopped.

 

The recent boom in grouse shooting will be doing the black's a massive favour, they just could do with a few good years weather wise. They do seem to bounce back fairly quickly if the management and habitat is right, think if i mind right only need something like 1.4 chicks per hen? survival to keep numbers level so if u get a 2 or 3 year spell off hens fledging 2,3 or 4 chicks, make a big difference to population

 

Really does my nut in when u hear the rspb on there high horse yet there prestigous upland reserves tend to be a sink hole for the birds from neighbouring sporting estates, yet they would ban shooting tomorrow if they got the chance. Who do they think is keeping these birds hanging on and providing the cash and management