Black grouse counts in 2008

In the North Pennines we surveyed black grouse leks as part of our Black Grouse Recovery Project. We surveyed 54% of known leks in England, with the numbers of males attending these leks down 13% on 2007. We now estimate the English population to be around 1,070 males. This decline in numbers is linked with the poor breeding success in 2007, when there were only 0.3 chicks per hen owing to the cold and wet weather in June. This is well below the 1.2 chicks per hen required to sustain the population.

Sadly, 2008 was another poor breeding year in the North Pennines, owing to the cold, wet June. Summer brood surveys showed that only 10% of 69 greyhens raised broods, at an average of 0.3 chicks per hen (see figure below). This is again well below the 1.2 chicks needed to sustain the population. We expect male numbers at leks to be down again in 2009.

Black grouse breeding success in northern England between 1996 and 2008

The horizontal line at 1.2 indicates the estimated level of productivity required to maintain a stable population