Recent dramatic crashes in grouse populations across the North of England and Scotland have highlighted the need to better understand grouse population dynamics and the factors driving them. The GWCT has a wealth of experience in monitoring both grouse populations themselves and all major parasites and diseases in them. Research monitoring has been carried out consistently since the 1980s and has led to the creation of unique and invaluable datasets.
GWCT Advisory Services Scotland are able to make this expertise available to estates outside our core research monitoring. Apart from offering insights into local trends, results are fed into our long-term databases and, in this way, contribute to crucial research. Services include:
Grouse population monitoring
Bringing our established research methodology to bear, we can establish formal 1km2 count sites with fixed transect lines across them. Counting is carried out by one of our experienced dog handlers with specially training pointing dogs, first in the spring to determine the number of pairs, and second in July to determine the numbers and sizes of broods as an indicator of breeding success. Results can be fed into distance programmes to produce an estimate of the total grouse population across an estate.
Strongyle worm counts & caecal egg counts
Accurate testing for the presence of strongyle worms is an indispensable part of best-practice parasite management, since medicated grit should only be administered where high worm burdens have been confirmed. During the grouse shooting season, we are able to examine the guts of shot grouse for the presence of strongyle worms. We are also able to examine grouse caecal faeces for the presence of worm eggs throughout most of the year. Our reports can form the basis for obtaining a prescription for medicated grit from a vet.
Louping Ill testing
With high chick losses attributed to Louping Ill Virus, knowing whether or not the disease is prevalent in grouse has important implications for the ways in which sheep are grazed over a hill and treated with acaricides. We are able to take blood samples from grouse shot during the shooting season, which are then analysed for the presence of antibodies to the Louping Ill Virus. Blood extraction is a difficult process that requires specialised equipment, and it needs happen before coagulation, usually within 20-30 minutes of a bird being shot. It can therefore only be carried out by one of advisors attending a shoot day.
Tick surveys on grouse chicks
Although NatureScot General Licence 4 forbids the taking of red grouse between 16 April and 31 July, we are able to carry out tick surveys on red grouse chicks, aged between 5 to 20 days, under a special disturbance licence. These surveys offer a much more accurate representation of tick burdens than alternative methods, such as blanket drags, can. Hence, they offer an invaluable means of understanding if sheep-grazing and acaricide-treatment regimens are effective.