By Phil Warren, Black Grouse Recovery Officer and Holly Appleby, Uplands Ecologist
Black grouse are a species of high conservation concern, with the remaining 1000-1500 males now largely restricted to moorland in the northern Pennines.
To monitor black grouse numbers, the GWCT, gamekeepers and land managers annually count the numbers of males displaying at leks each spring. These counts, which started in the early 1990s, and since 1998 leks on 18 estates have been counted in most years. The males on these 18 sites are estimated to represent about half of the UK population of breeding males. These counts, therefore, provide an important indicator of the health of the population.
Counts this year showed the largest year-on-year increase recorded in 35 years of monitoring. With numbers of black grouse males recorded at leks on these 18 estates increased from 557 males in 2025 to 894 this spring, a 61% increase, with some eastern moors reporting record highs. Lots of young males in the population have led to some unusual observations. At some larger leks, young males formed satellite leks close to the larger lek, one of which was even in the middle of a road. Our repeat second counts conducted in late April early May, which are usually slightly higher than the early counts, but this year at some leks had doubled in size. While, females are rarely seen at leks, this year saw another record broken with 30 females counted at one with 24 males.
These increases are testament to years of management across the study area, where black grouse benefit from reduced predation due to predator control provided by moorland gamekeepers, traditional farming practices and grouse moor management which maintain the mosaic of hay meadows, rough pasture and moorland favoured by the birds.
Lek surveying through the eyes of a student (by Adriana Dermetzis, Uplands Placement Student)
Early mornings are never an easy feat to overcome, but waking up at dawn was worth it to see my first black grouse lek whilst on placement. Upon arrival to the lek site, the fields came alive with the sound of cooing filling the air. In the distance, black and white dots moved and flapped around, and upon closer look with a pair of binoculars, the image became clear: 20+ black cocks with their white flared tails and stunning red eyebrows puffed up. As they moved around marking their territory, their chests puffed up and shrunk rapidly, whilst they produced their characteristic bubbling calls. Whenever two would encounter or challenge another’s place on the lek, they’d make intimidating hissing noises, sometimes meeting mid-air to fight. With the help of binoculars, females could be see watching either from a distance or right in the middle of the lek, observing the males to gauge which was the fittest. If a female was in plain sight of the male, the hissing and fighting would dramatically increase, a last ditch effort for the males to show they’re the best on the lek. This experience has been my favourite so far whilst on placement.