Black Grouse are one of four members of the grouse family in the UK. The males are black with a distinctive red patch over the eye and a striking white stripe along each wing which you can see when they’re flying. The males gather in “leks” in spring to display and complete for females, during which they fan out their long, curling tail feathers and show their white under-tail feathers. The females are smaller and gingery-brown with a slightly notched tail.
Black Grouse favour moorland habitat that borders on woodland, but they can be found on rough grazings and suitable native woodland. Most of the UK population is in Scotland and northeastern England, with a small number in Wales. The Scottish population has been broadly stable in the north since 2005, but there have been steep declines in south and central Scotland, with fewer than 200 lekking males recorded annually since 2022.
Black Grouse is on the Scottish Biodiversity List, which identifies the species that are of the most importance to biodiversity in Scotland. It is also on the UK Birds of Conservation Concern Red List.
Photos: Chris Gomersall, Andy Hay and Mike Langman for rspb-images.com
Action Needed
We need strategic, multi-year funding for landscape-scale nature restoration and habitat management to benefit Black Grouse.
We need national strategic land-use planning so that onshore wind developments and forestry plantations can be sited in a way that’s less damaging to Black Grouse and other upland species that need open or mixed habitat. We also need support for farmers and crofters to empower them to take steps to help Black Grouse, for example by maintaining rough grazing with low stocking density. Finally, we need funding for an up-to-date nationwide survey of Black Grouse to be provided by Scottish, Welsh and Westminster governments.
Threats
Black Grouse population declines have been closely linked to changes in land use, with rough grazing land being transformed by ploughing, draining, re-seeding and fertiliser use into productive ryegrass pasture. In other locations, similar habitat has been planted with commercial forestry, which as it matures becomes unsuitable for Black Grouse as the undergrowth they need doesn’t survive under the dense tree canopy. Overgrazing or undergrazing can also make the habitat less suitable. There is also growing pressure from windfarms, which displace leks that are close to turbines.
MSP Nature Champion
Member for:
