Gamekeepers enlisted in £2 million Cairngorms project to save the capercaillie
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Gamekeepers in the strath are being officially recognised as key to saving the endangered capercaillie in its native Cairngorms heartland.
A new £2 million funding investment, backed by the National Lottery Fund and aimed at controlling the bird’s predators, has been launched by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA).
The large woodland grouse remains on the critical list in Scotland with fewer than 1000 individuals thought to remain.
Their natural domain has also shrunk to a collection of forests in the Cairngorms, with loss of habitat recognised as a significant cause of decline.
Capercaillie prefer connected woodland with minimal human disturbance.
But the role that predators such as foxes and crows play in raiding nests and eating chicks is increasingly cited as a factor.
Through CPNA’s Cairngorms Capercaillie Project, skilled gamekeepers will be employed to bolster existing predator control programmes.
Gamekeepers working on Seafield and Strathspey Estates currently control populations of predators, with around 20 percent of the UK’s remaining capercaillie residing there.
The new funding will support a three-year gamekeeping post on the estate aimed at promoting more predator management and improving habitats to boost Capercaillie productivity.
Seasonal gamekeepers will also be funded at Rothiemurchus Estate in a bid to cement and grow existing populations of the elusive bird.
The funding comes on the back of an independent survey of local residents commissioned by the Carrbridge Capercaillie Group.
It formally recognised the role gamekeepers play in protecting a bird known as the ‘horse of the woods’.
Both estates will match-fund the investment, with the roles also involving deer management, assistance with monitoring, genetics and the analysis of predator droppings to help establish predator diets.
CNPA Board member Doug McAdam said: “The Cairngorms Capercaillie Project advocates an effective, evidence-based approach.
“In accordance, the project is supporting fox and crow control for capercaillie in the national park, where land managers wish to undertake it. It complements existing work, providing increased effort in targeted areas.
“We’re really pleased to be able to support the employment of a new full-time gamekeeper on Seafield and Strathspey Estates for the next three years.
“The estate holds the largest number of capercaillie on any private estate. This is a huge responsibility.
“Equally, on Rothiemurchus Estate where real potential exists for a breeding population to establish, we’re pleased to be able to help the estate maintain more effective levels of fox and crow control through the employment of a new seasonal gamekeeper.
"To help measure the impact of this additional keepering, we'll be employing contractors to carry out brood counts this season.
“Through our online Capercaillie Hub, due to be launched next year, we'll be sharing the headline results.
“The Hub aims to be a one-stop-shop for people to access the information being gathered on the ground, including results from scat surveys over the next two breeding seasons, to help us learn more about predator diets in areas where fox and crow control is carried out for Capercaillie.”
Ewan Archer, the head gamekeeper at Kinveachy - part of Seafield and Strathspey Estates - welcomed the project’s investment and is convinced it will deliver success for the species.
He said: “I think the CNPA should be applauded for their approach.
“They are supporting lots of different approaches to capercaillie conservation across the project, including this.
“We want to be a part of it because we believe the work of gamekeepers makes a positive difference.”
