Bittersweet year for Capercaillie
RSPB Scotland's Abernethy Forest Nature Reserve had the best Capercaillie breeding season for 13 years in 2009. It is hoped this will provide a significant boost to the numbers of the rare and iconic bird after a series of very poor breeding seasons and a decline in spring counts at leks (communal display grounds) across much of the bird's Scottish range.
Capercaillie, Cairn Gorm, Highland (Photo: Robert Askew)
Brood counts at the RSPB's flagship reserve using specially trained dogs in late July recorded 1.5 chicks per hen. Elsewhere some other estates also recorded good results, but Capercaillie still number fewer than 2,000 birds. Capercaillie are a priority for management at Abernethy, which is also a National Nature Reserve and a European protected area with many designations reflecting the importance of its habitats and the incredible 4,000+ wildlife species which are found there.
The aim is to improve breeding success of the Capercaillie by managing the native pine forest to enhance and increase brood habitat (chicks require good blaeberry cover with a rich diversity of insects) protecting old, mature pine forest and reducing predation by controlling foxes and crows. In the long term, expansion towards a natural tree line, and rejoining fragmented areas of forest, will increase the total area of available habitat and, in turn, productivity in years when the weather is favourable. Elsewhere collisions with deer fences can significantly increase adult mortality, but many problem fences at key sites have now been removed or marked to make them more visible. However, it is essential that the remaining 'killer' fences are identified and removed.
Favourable weather conditions before egg-laying in April and after hatching in June are thought to have helped the situation both on Abernethy and at other estates this year, particularly in Strathspey. Capercaillie requires relatively warm and dry weather conditions and good habitat to breed successfully. Breeding success is usually low in cold, wet springs, which have become more frequent in recent years.
The Capercaillie was reintroduced to Scotland by sporting estates in the 1830s after becoming extinct in the 18th century. There were thought to be as many as 20,000 individuals as recently as 1970, but numbers have since declined steeply. The most recent population estimate was just 2,000 birds in 2003/2004. A repeat national survey is underway this winter to provide an up-to-date population estimate. Results should be available later in 2010.
Capercaillie, Loch Garten RSPB, Highland (Photo: Kev Joynes)
Annual lek counts suggest that numbers remain relatively stable in Strathspey (which now holds over 50% of the national population) and in Moray, Nairnshire and Easter Ross. However, the decline continues in Aberdeenshire and south of the Grampians. In Aberdeenshire, Deeside has a more favourable climate and the largest area of potentially good pine forest habitat outside Strathspey, but breeding success has been poor for some years and Capercaillie numbers are now critically low. Capercaillie are relatively sedentary birds and there is a risk that the remaining small populations in Aberdeenshire will become isolated from each other, with the possibility of local extinction. RSPB Scotland is currently seeking support from landowners and government agencies to develop and implement suitable management plans that take account of Capercaillie.
Stuart Housden, director of RSPB Scotland, said: "We are delighted with this year's improved productivity at Abernethy and elsewhere in Strathspey, but there is still much work to be done. The Capercaillie has already disappeared once from Scotland and it remains one of the country's rarest and most vulnerable breeding birds. We hope that the current programme of conservation work, which involves the cooperation of many private landowners, and funding from Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland, will prevent it from disappearing for a second time. However, the situation on Deeside and in Perthshire is now critical, and we are appealing to land managers to do all in their power to help."
