Posted by Coverhead Estate
In 2018 the very hot dry weather was a disaster for a lot of moorland ground nesting birds. There were simply very few insects to go round and the chicks suffered as a consequence. At Coverhead being a wet moor normally means we have plenty of pools to support insect life but even here we noticed a significant difference. Although our Grouse brood counts in July 2018 indicated a small shootable surplus we decided not to shoot at all and canceled the entire 2018 season to ensure an adequate breeding stock for 2019. We are pleased to say that we now have confirmation that was the right decision! Grouse pair counts using pointers, carried out by the GWCT in March 2019, have shown a good healthy stock. The grouse have now started to nest and the egg clutch sizes we know of so far gives us great hope that the 2019 season will be a memorable one. (The image used in this article is of the counting team from GWCT brood counting on another moor in 2017)