Capercaillie

Dave Windle

In conjunction with NatureScot, RSPB and Scottish Forestry, the Cairngorms Park Authority undertook a project to save the critically endangered capercaillie: see Cairngorms Capercaillie Project. This has now evolved into the Capercaillie Emergency Plan: see Capercaillie emergency plan - Cairngorms National Park Authority

The original project had five aims:

1. Helping communities to create and deliver their own community-led actions for capercaillie
2. Raising awareness of the plight of capercaillie and how people can help
3. Researching the genetic diversity of capercaillie in the National Park to help inform action
4. Improving and creating more habitat for capercaillie and controlling predators in key areas
5. Strengthening capercaillie monitoring to enable more informed decisions

The project achieved a lot, see Cairngorms Capercaillie Project - Final-Evaluation-Report. Picking out some key wins, it

• raised awareness,
• encouraged local volunteer action,
• encouraged local wildlife guides to not take guests to view leks,
• marked and removed deer fencing,
• improved and expanded suitable habitat, and
• worked with local dog walkers, mountain bikers, etc. to reduce disturbance.

However, despite these successes, capercaillie numbers have continued to decline. The Emergency Plan continues the work, focusing on -

• expanding and improving habitat
• reducing the impacts of predation,
• removing and marking fences
• reducing disturbance, and
• monitoring.

It is now estimated that only 532 capercaillie survive in Scotland. 85% of these birds are in Strathspey. The Deeside population is estimated at 10 birds, a slight increase! The emergency plan continues the project work as outlined above. However, 532 birds is too small for a viable surviving population. In nature, as with humans, too much inbreeding leads to birth defects and disease. Part of the work of the emergency plan will consider these genetic factors more closely. The Deeside population, although minute, potentially has a vital role to play as it is genetically separate from the Strathspey population. Bringing genes from Deeside to Strathspey by transferring chicks from one site to another would help but, my guess is that chicks will have to imported from abroad.