{"id":420084,"date":"2026-02-11T15:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420084\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:07:09","slug":"boost-for-critically-endangered-capercaillie-at-abernethy-nature-reserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/420084\/","title":{"rendered":"Boost for critically endangered Capercaillie at Abernethy nature reserve"},"content":{"rendered":"

A 50% increase in Capercaillie numbers has been recorded at RSPB\u2019s Abernethy nature reserve over the past five years.<\/p>\n

The boost in numbers\u00a0from\u00a020\u00a0lekking males in 2021\u00a0to 30 in 2025 is\u00a0a critical lifeline for the population of just over 500 birds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Capercaillie, a large woodland grouse, are found only in Scotland\u2019s Caledonian pine forests within the UK.<\/p>\n

Males are distinctive for their black feathers with a metallic green sheen, fan-shaped tails and a \u201cclip-clop\u201d call during lekking, a courtship display that has earned them the Gaelic name \u201chorse of the woods\u201d.<\/p>\n

Females are much smaller and mottled brown, grey and black.<\/p>\n

During lekking season, males gather at traditional sites to perform displays of clicks, pops and so-called \u201cflutter jumps\u201d in an effort to attract females.<\/p>\n

\u201cLekking\u201d describes the males\u2019 courtship\u00a0behaviour\u00a0where they perform a display of\u00a0clicks, pops\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cflutter jumps\u201d\u00a0at lek sites.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Richard Mason, conservation manager at RSPB Scotland Abernethy said:\u00a0\u201cThe increase in the number of lekking male Capercaillie is thanks to the huge amount of work we are undertaking to improve habitat quality.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe combination of cutting and extensive cattle grazing has dramatically improved conditions in the forest. We are seeing many chicks reaching full size and whilst the future of\u00a0Capercaillie\u00a0remains\u00a0in the balance, we are hopeful that these techniques can support their recovery in Scotland.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Capercaillie numbers have been declining significantly\u00a0for decades, with the most recent national survey\u00a0(2021-2022) estimating only 532 remain.<\/p>\n

That is the lowest recorded level since surveys began in 1992-1994 and a 52% decline since the previous survey (2015-2016) when the population estimate was 1,114 birds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Richard added:\u00a0\u201cThere is still\u00a0a lot of\u00a0work to be done for Capercaillie, not just at RSPB Abernethy, but across\u00a0all Capercaillie\u00a0sites in Scotland. We know that their recovery is only possible by working together and in collaboration with others.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is exciting to see that other land managers looking after Capercaillie habitat are also undertaking innovative vegetation management with support from the\u00a0Scottish Government\u2019s Nature Restoration Fund managed by the Cairngorms National Park Authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBy\u00a0enhancing\u00a0these native pinewood forests, we can collectively work towards the recovery of this incredible bird.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A 50% increase in Capercaillie numbers has been recorded at RSPB\u2019s Abernethy nature reserve over the past five…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":420085,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[90,56,54,55,4407],"class_list":["post-420084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=420084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/420084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/420085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=420084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=420084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=420084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}