Black grouse in the UK have declined severely in both population size and range over the past 200 years. To measure trends in numbers over time in northern England, our GWCT Uplands team counts lekking males in the spring from vantage points. To measure breeding productivity, we also count black grouse females and their broods using pointing dogs every summer.
Pointing dogs are essential to the GWCT in helping conduct both red and black grouse counts in the Uplands.
They are the group of working dogs which have been bred for generations to find grouse and other birds by air, scenting as they run across habitat then quickly locating themselves down wind and coming on point; this is a rigid stance that the dog takes which will hold the birds still without scaring them.
When asked about using dogs in place of newer technology, Dr Phil Warren, the GWCT black grouse expert, explains:
“We use dogs as the grouse are hidden in vegetation and dogs find them by scent, then we can age and sex birds as they fly off. Counting grouse using drones has not yet been tested. Sometimes the old ways are still the best!”
Records of pointing dogs being used to locate birds go back to before the 1500s when dogs of a spaniel type were used to locate birds for falconry and for locating birds that were then netted on the ground to provide food for the lord’s table.
As the term pointing breeds implies, the dogs locate the birds in cover and then “point” to where the birds are by freezing into the classic pointer stance, head up, tail out and one front foot slightly raised (often vibrating with excitement) “saying they're just here!”. This allows the field worker to plod along behind, but be very close to the birds as they flush.
Due to the nature of the habitat and terrain grouse breeding success can't be assessed by observing the birds from vehicles driven along field edges, like you would do with grey partridges.
By harnessing the dog’s natural ability to locate birds hidden in cover and then freezing motionless on point, we can measure breeding productivity and the numbers of grouse on a given area.
Two major roles for the dogs include carrying out red grouse counts in the spring in order to estimate spring breeding densities, and then in the summer to measure post-breeding densities and female productivity of black grouse, red grouse and capercaillie. The dogs can also be used to locate and point incubating female grouse, and for pointing chicks in the first two weeks of their life before they can fly.
The GWCT has worked to help and protect black grouse for the past 25 years. Our main objectives have been to stem the decline and expand their range, and much of our research focuses on this.
Our Black Grouse Appeal is raising money to allow us to continue the great work of the Black Grouse Range Expansion Project initially funded by Natural England. The money donated through the appeal will be used for fitting more birds with radio transmitters and GPS tags, which will allow us to follow their movements, lekking behaviour and settlement patterns.
The long-term aim is to provide evidence to help guide landscape-scale management of moorland fringe grasslands to benefit black grouse and increase their range across the north of England, and to help mitigate against any likely future impacts of climate change.
If you would like to help support our vital conservation work with this iconic species, please visit our Black Grouse Appeal or donate here: