One of Scotland’s rarest birds, the black grouse, is winning further support for its survival through a newly formed alliance of Deeside estates.

The National Trust for Scotland’s Mar Lodge Estate, along with the Balmoral and Glen Tanar Estates aims to collaboratively monitor black grouse populations at their territorial lek sites in mid and upper Deeside.

It is hoped that information gathered can be used to enhance the species’ recovery. This, along with adopting changes in estate management practices, will give the birds the best chance of recovery. It is also hoped that this lead will be taken up by further adjoining estates in the Deeside catchment.

Dr Shaila Rao, the National Trust for Scotland Ecologist at Mar Lodge, said: “The data from the monitoring will be collated to assess black grouse numbers on a regional level. This will then allow us to compare trends between other regions.

“Currently there are Speyside and Tayside Black Grouse Study Groups, so the addition of one on Deeside will give important additional research information - it is an exercise in getting all the estates committed to counting all their black grouse.”

Black grouse are declining in the UK and have been doing so - albeit with some temporary increases - since the early 1900s. Scotland has taken much of the brunt of this decline, especially in the Borders.

At one point, black grouse could be found in just about every county in the UK, but the species can now only be found in four counties in England, North Wales and Scotland. They are now one of the UK’s most threatened birds.

At a recent meeting, convened to harness the support of participating estate mangers for the Deeside group, Desmond Dugan from the RSPB and a founder member of the Speyside Black Grouse Study Group said:

"These magnificent birds personify our Highland landscape. Their evocative crooning and bubbling has been so familiar to generations of keepers, stalkers and land managers.

”Only collective efforts and wise management of our upland margins by land managers will ensure that black grouse spring displays will be enjoyed by generations to come.

“The formation of the Deeside Black Grouse Group is a great initiative and a sound investment for the future.”

Dr Rao went on to say:

“The Deeside Black Grouse Study Group intends to have two meetings a year, one to discuss that year’s study data and another as a field meeting to look at black grouse management and habitat or to do some ‘cold searching’ for leks.

“So, with the current run of fine dry weather, we are hopeful of a successful breeding season this year - it has been the wet periods through May and June in the past two breeding seasons that have had such a telling effect on the birds’ mortality.”