Rewilding Efforts Lead to Recovering This Precious Bird

As native woods, peatlands, and wetlands have been restored on a large scale, the population of black grouse in the Scottish Highlands is at its highest in almost 20 years.

“The support from local volunteers, estates and other organizations this year has inspired optimism that these birds will be well looked after into the future,” states Simon McLaughlin, site manager for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. “We hope we will see even more of this community involvement going forward and to continue working together to implement measures to safeguard this amazing species.”

The study took place in the Affric Highlands, near Inverness, where rewilding efforts have been deployed on a larger scale. Between April and May 2024, the number of lekking males reached 405 at 14 locations. In 2021 and 2007, those numbers reached 378 and 250, respectively. Plans are being made to reintroduce the black grouse in Sussex, England. As for Belgium, a program aimed at restoring the country’s small and threatened population of black grouse has shown early signs of success.