By Felix Meister, D.Phil., Advisor Scotland
In March and early April, GWCT staff commenced the 2025 red grouse monitoring season by carrying out pair counts across Scotland. Pair counts aim to determine the number of pairs going into the breeding season. The current monitoring regime extends over a total of 35 sites located in the Angus, Borders, Dee/Donside, Highlands, and Moray & Nairn, and Perthshire.
The results of this year’s pair counts indicate a pronounced decrease compared to 2024 (Fig. 1). A total of 744 were counted across all sites, which represents an overall decline of 34% from the 1133 birds counted in 2024 (Table 1). Regional declines varied, though it needs to be stressed that large variations in Angus, Borders, and Perthshire are likely due to the low number of count sites in these regions. More robust sample sizes in Dee/Donside, Highlands, and Moray & Nairn returned declines between 31% and 37%.
Figure 1: Scottish red grouse pair counts 1990-2025 (18-27 core sites monitored each year)
| Region |
Birds 2025 |
Birds 2024 |
Change |
| Angus |
70 |
74 |
-5% |
| Borders |
35 |
41 |
-15% |
| Dee/Donside |
176 |
268 |
-34% |
| Highlands |
339 |
541 |
-37% |
| Moray & Nairn |
109 |
159 |
-31% |
| Perthshire |
15 |
50 |
-70% |
| Total |
744 |
1133 |
-34% |
Table 1: Results of pair counts 2025 and 2024
These declines are best explained as the direct result of the very poor breeding season in 2024. GWCT brood counts carried out in July 2024 over the same sites found very low numbers of chicks, with an average ratio of young to old birds of 0.6 (compared to 1.4 in 2023). At such low reproduction rates, regular winter losses due to severe weather, predation, and disease and parasites are bound to have a visible impact on population numbers.
The catastrophic chick loss of 2024, and its repercussions in the spring of 2025, highlight the urgent need to better understand the drivers of grouse population dynamics. GWCT is currently developing two major projects designed to shed light on these drivers: the Maternal Grouse Project involves comprehensive monitoring of grouse hens through the breeding season, and the Long-Term Grouse Count Analysis proposes an detailed statistical analysis of our long-term datasets, such as decades of pair count and brood count data.
Funding is needed to carry out this important research. To make a donation, please use the form below or contact scottishhq@gwct.org.uk.