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Red Grouse

A Red Grouse Survey to be undertken in 2007 will bring together a diverse group of interested parties -landowners, conservation bodies, game and gun dog clubs, advisory and research bodies, government departments and others with an interest in red grouse. This project was instigated and funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and involves all stakeholders. BirdWatch Ireland has been contracted to manage the Red Grouse Survey with Dr. Sinéad Cummins as Project Manager. The main aim is to assess the distribution and abundance of red grouse in the Republic of Ireland.

Male red grouse. Photo: © Mike Brown

RED GROUSE
Known as cearc fhraoigh as Gaeilge which means bird of heather, red grouse are perhaps the most characteristic bird of raised and blanket bogs. A medium sized, native gamebird, they are smaller than pheasants and have a rounded tail. They are likely to be encountered when disturbed by dogs or people walking. They fly low after an explosive take-off with alternate whirring wing beats and long glides. They may be on their own or in small packs. Males have a deep red-brown plumage with paler underwings, white feathered legs and a bright red comb above the eye. They look almost black from a distance. The hen red grouse has yellower plumage. During the breeding season the cock engages in displays with his characteristic call 'go-back go-back' often repeated.

RED GROUSE HABITAT
Ling heather Calluna vulgaris is crucial in the life cycle of red grouse. A mosaic of different aged heather stands is required. Birds nest and shelter in tall heather. They feed on young heather shoots, flowers and seed. Berries such as fraocháns or bilberry and some insects are eaten. Mineral grit is also required to assist the breakdown of heather in the gizzard. Males are territorial in winter, with females joining them on their territories in spring before nesting starts in late April early May.

Historically, red grouse have been distributed widely in Ireland with extensive areas of heaths and bogs providing suitable food and shelter. Grouse lovers have expressed concern over their decline in many areas due to habitat loss caused by overgrazing, afforestation, mechanical peat extraction and uncontrolled burning, along with predation. An increasing concern is the abandonment of heather uplands with the change in the livestock subsidy payment regime. Farming such land for production may not be economically viable.

In Northern Ireland a wide-ranging field survey, using tapes of grouse-calls to lure responses, found just 202 pairs in 2004. The current guesstimate for Ireland ranges between 1,000 and 5,000 breeding pairs. Red grouse are on the BirdWatch Ireland Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern in Ireland, because their range has declined by more than 50% in the last 25 years. The Red List comprises birds of highest conservation concern. BirdWatch Ireland compile these lists from all available data. Results from the forthcoming survey will confirm or change their status in time. An updated list due in 2007 will not include any change to the status of red grouse.

MANAGEMENT OF HABITAT
In Scotland grouse shooting is big business, earning £1,000 a day in the shooting season. The entire shooting tourism business in Scotland is estimated to be worth over £110 million. Sheep farming and good grouse management are compatible in Scotland. Management involves controlling predators such as foxes and crows, feeding grouse and sometimes treating them for disease.

Management also includes burning which is one of the oldest and most useful land management tools. However, it needs to be used with skill and understanding if it is not to do more harm than good. Heather hillsides or moorland are usually burned in narrow stripes to rejuvenate strong heather. Burning gets rid of woody stems, converting them to nutrients. More palatable young heather re-grows, which suits sheep, grouse and other wildlife. If heather remains very dense and tall for long periods, other peatland flora and fauna can be reduced or eliminated. However, if carried out too often or if fires are too hot, burning can kill off shoots and seeds and burn the peat itself, leading to poor regeneration. Fires can be too hot due to wind, hot weather or if there is too much woody material. In Scotland it is recommended to burn when heather is higher than twenty centimetres. It should not be let grow more than thirty centimetres, if planning to burn. This could mean a rotation of ten years or up to twenty years, where heather growth is poor. Burning is bad for certain vegetation, such as bog mosses. Raised or blanket bogs on peat over 0.5 metre in depth should not be burned. Other unsuitable areas are where the soil is eroding, where there is thin soil or exposed peat. In these cases soil may be consumed by the fire, erosion follows and regrowth is poor. Fires must not be allowed to spread into woodland or scrub. Sites traditionally used for nesting by legally protected birds of prey must be avoided. Heather burning is carried out on a number of small areas rather than one large area, giving a patchwork pattern. This creates a mosaic of different aged heather stands on the hill which suits grouse. The width of an individual fire does not exceed fifty metres. This planned programme of burning carried out properly benefits grouse, deer and sheep grazing. It is an option under Scottish agri-environment schemes. The shortening of the burning season in Ireland under the Wildlife (Amendment Act) 2000 - now from September 1st to March 31st has reduced burning opportunities.

Dr. Sinéad Cummins, BirdWatch Ireland Project Manager, using a tape lure playback to entice territorial male red grouse to respond to the 'intruder' call thus enabling a count of birds present. Photo: © Mike Brown

NATIONAL RED GROUSE SURVEY 2007
The success of this survey will be largely dependent on the cooperation of farmers and landowners. All survey volunteers are required to follow a code of safety and best practice. They are categorised as 'recreational users' as defined by the 1995 Occupiers' Liability Act, which puts the onus on them to take all necessary precautions for their own safety. Survey volunteers will be required, where possible, to obtain permission from the relevant landowners to enter privately owned lands before starting their field survey. A letter confirming their participation in BirdWatch Ireland fieldwork will be provided to each volunteer and should be on their person to produce as evidence of their affiliation to the survey if requested from any concerned landowner. The survey takes place throughout the country, in approximately 200 locations (each a square of one kilometre by one kilometre), from January to March 31st, in potentially suitable grouse areas that may have had previous records for red grouse. Counts will be carried out using two methods. One method to be used in all survey squares will involve a team of two making one visit to each location, using tape lures which entice male red grouse to respond to the 'intruder' calls and aid detection of grouse.

The second count method, to be used in a select number of locations, will be carried out by trained personnel and their dogs. This method will involve counting an area of two kilometres by one kilometre with pointer or setter dogs quartering the area in front of their handlers, pointing to any grouse present. These highly trained dogs are under complete control of their handlers and pose no threat to livestock.

INTERESTED PARTIES
NPWS
The NPWS in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government are legally responsible for the conservation of all bird species. As red grouse is a quarry species, this involves the regulation of hunting seasons. Changes in the distribution of red grouse highlighted by Breeding Atlas Surveys in 1968-72 and 1988-91 along with other work showing a decline in red grouse have indicated the need for a comprehensive national survey for some time. This survey will constitute a baseline and future assessments of the population will have to be measured against this standard.

Landowners
Farmers have continually provided habitat for red grouse and recognise that farming this habitat is good for the conservation of the bird. Overgrazing is being addressed under the Commonage Framework Plans and vegetation will recover in time. The Irish Farmers Association would support the inclusion of management options for red grouse in REPS. The project is also supported by the Landowners Alliance. Bórd na Mona are interested in the results of the survey for lands owned by them. Coillte who are also involved in the steering group presently have ongoing joint grouse projects.

Conservation bodies
BirdWatch Ireland, the largest conservation Non-Governmental Organisation in Ireland is devoted to the conservation and protection of Ireland's wild birds and their habitats and is pleased to be managing the red grouse survey. The Irish Peatland Conservation Council are particularly interested in red grouse because they use different types of peatland habitats including heathland, raised bog and blanket bog. Wetter areas such as bog pools provide an important supply of insects for red grouse chicks. The presence of breeding grouse on peatland indicates that it is in a relatively intact state with sufficient open water and heather cover to support adults and chicks.

Game Clubs
Red grouse and grey partridge were favoured game species. Unlike grey partridge, red grouse was a very sporting bird, being difficult to shoot. Local game clubs in Wicklow undertook active habitat management from 1966-76, burning heather in stripes, doing individual bird counts in late March and early April and counting coveys in late July. Counts using pointer or setter dogs worked well as did listening to cocks calling at dawn. 1992 was the last surplus year for red grouse in Wicklow.

The National Association of Regional Game Councils are currently involved in funding red grouse projects and feel the key to their future is the extent and condition of suitable habitat. They will have over forty volunteers involved in the survey. While red grouse are not involved in shoots, the Association of Game Shoot Organisers, representing fifty commercial shoots support the survey. It is also welcomed by the Irish Game Protection Association, the oldest game protection association, dating back to the 1890's, representing many driven shoots and estates.

Gun Dog Clubs
The 18 Pointer and Setter Field Trial clubs affiliated to the Irish Kennel Club (responsible for the registration of purebred Irish dogs) are contributing over fifty volunteers to the survey. These clubs run trials, where a gun dog's proficiency at work is tested. Pointers and setters have been bred and selected on their ability to gallop tirelessly, to use the wind and terrain in their search for the body scent of game. On finding it they stop, freezing into immobility, until the handler requests the dog to move forward flushing the birds into flight. The understanding and invisible contact between man and dog is amazing. People involved in trials learn to appreciate the beauty of these areas and the need to manage them.

The Irish Grouse Ground Conservation Committee, a sub-committee of the Irish Kennel Club organised a Grouse Conference in 1993. They fund projects by the Pointer and Setter clubs on pheasants, snipe and grouse. Some involve importing grouse grit. They do grouse counts for NPWS and would love to promote red grouse to young people who have never seen this bird.

Advisory and Research
Teagasc are involved in advising farmers on habitat management, including habitat for red grouse. This involvement in biodiversity advice has been encouraged by REPS since 1994, but interestingly, back in 1966, the Minister for Lands commissioned An Foras Taluntais (now Teagasc) to undertake a research programme to provide recommendations for increasing grouse populations. PJ O'Hare undertook much research in Glenamoy in Mayo.

Research expertise is represented through University College Cork, the main university involved in bird research. As chairman of the steering group, Professor John O'Halloran welcomes the invaluable input of all interested parties in this project - a process known as 'citizen science'.

Others
Members of Wicklow Uplands Council have reported a decline in the numbers of red grouse present in the Wicklow Uplands over the past ten years and welcome the national survey. Many members feel current constraints on heather management are a contributing factor and the Council is investigating how this can be addressed. The Heritage Council is involved in the steering group of the project. It is a statutory body whose role is to propose policies and priorities for the identification, protection, preservation and enhancement of the national heritage which includes flora, fauna and wildlife habitats.

GET INVOLVED
All interested parties or individuals are welcome to get involved or take part in the survey. Recorded sightings or signs of red grouse are welcome. Take note of date, location and grid reference if possible. Contact Sinéad Cummins, Project Manager, at BirdWatch Ireland 01 2819878 or email redgrouse@birdwatchireland.ie

© 2007 Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist, Teagasc, Pilltown, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland