One, two, skip a few.

Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group

At this time of year our moorland keepers are in the midst of counting their paired and any unpaired grouse. This takes place in early morning to ascertain the populations that are resident in a predetermined area. Counting pairs in the mornings catches the grouse in their territories before they are disturbed or if they move into different areas to feed etc.

By counting pairs and comparing previous counts in other years and correlating these with harvest rates/productivity this gives an early but provisional indication of prospects for the season. It also allows the keepers to see which areas of the moor are potentially suffering from predation and to see what stock levels exist on certain beats of the moor. All these figures help influence decisions going forward. Whilst pair counting will not tell the keeper how the breeding season will turn out it is a helpful indicator to the health of the birds and their distribution. Different methods are employed to count grouse. Providing the same format is performed each spring the figures can then be compared.

Some keepers carry out transect counts (between points) whereas others count blocks or areas. Some use pointing dogs but others will take a small team of regular gundogs and flush the birds in a walked up fashion. Other estates allow enthusiastic HPR or bird dog owners to work the moor but adopting a consistent method is what is key.