Grouse shooting
A year with much to grouse about? Adam Smith, Director Scotland, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust
It all looked so promising for 2018, even though 2017 wasn’t an exceptional year for grouse across the board in any way. In fact, the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust’s grouse counts from across Scotland were on average very close to the average density for 20122016. But shooting was modest, or even reasonable for many and a ‘stock’ of birds went into the winter. From there on 2018 turned from the year of great promise, to one where grouse shooting was in very short supply. Across
8
Scotland spring counts of grouse pairs were down by 2025%. Fewer breeding birds then produced many fewer grouse chicks, with some estimates suggesting around 50% less productivity (chicks per hen) on average; from around two young grouse for each old to less than one young for each old. It wasn’t unexpected. As well as fewer breeding pairs, numbers of moors reported smaller than normal clutch sizes, and then dwindling brood sizes. It was a recipe for what most moors ultimately saw
in their grouse counts, with small broods or barren pairs, and pockets of ground where brood sizes, and thus numbers of grouse, had held up. While it was most moors, it wasn’t all and there were some notable exceptions where numbers and breeding success allowed a near normal shooting programme with low but adequate young to old ratios in the bag. What drove the decline for many moors from year to year and why some moors survived relatively unscathed is much more difficult to assess. The small
clutch and brood sizes could also be signs of poor hen grouse nutrition before laying (the cold, dry early weather delayed plant growth) and poor chick nutrition thereafter (the hot, dry later conditions affecting plant and insect quality). Research from previous years shows around 30% of the variation on grouse breeding success comparing between moors can be explained by the quality of the heather food available. Indeed, this is one of the most important factors explaining the ability of grouse moors to carry larger peak