Red Grouse – a specialised moorland bird

Red Grouse, as seen in the photograph, have distinctive colouring and a recognisable call which is a loud "GOBACK GOBACK".  They are only found in the UK where they are native to the moorlands and live there all through the year.

Grouse feed only on green heather shoots – except their very young chicks which are insect eaters or 'insectivores'.  So, they tend to feed in areas of young heather where green shoots are plentiful.

However, they like to nest in older heather which is both taller and bushier and provides good cover. Consequently, their ideal habitat is a moorland that is a patchwork of heather of different ages to provide both feeding and nesting sites, as can be seen in the photograph here.

Grouse are territorial so by using heather burning as a management tool to create many different-aged burn sites a moor can support a greater number of birds.

The grouse shooting season is from August 12th to December 10th.  It is not permitted when the birds are raising their young and when it would cause disturbance to other nesting moorland birds.

Grouse moors have a relatively high economic value as it can cost well over £1000 per gun per day!

Moors managed for grouse tend to have a high conservation value as other species also like the mix of young and older heather for similar reasons.