Field Sports -- 3 years ago
Glorious grouse – what to expect this season
Words: Gentleman's Journal
It is always very dangerous in the early summer to be making bold projections as to what the coming grouse season will bring.
We enjoyed a pretty mild winter in both the North of England and in Scotland, and at the time of writing there was little on the weather front to cause concern apart from some surprisingly deep snow, which fell in parts of the Highlands at the end of April. Early nests will not enjoy this. However, it is often forgotten that the red grouse is a sub-Arctic bird and therefore usually thrives in harsh weather. Unless there is unremitting snow that lies for long periods of time, denying any food for the birds over the winter months, grouse much prefer dry and very cold weather to unending rain. The critical weeks weather-wise are usually the third and fourth weeks of May and the first three weeks of June. Thereafter, most grouse chicks can look after themselves, irrespective of the weather.
This spring, grouse stocks are very good on most moors (with the exceptions of those parts of Scotland which have not performed at all in recent years) and in some instances the stocks are extremely high. Overall, therefore, the potential for a very good grouse season in 2015 is high. Bulgy eye, which first appeared in 2010 on some West Pennine moors, is still there, but surprisingly, given the increased numbers of grouse that we have seen over the last two or three years, does not seem to have developed into a major problem. It moved into Scotland in 2013, but has not gained a foothold outside of the Lammermuirs.
Overall, spring counts this year are up on most of the moors that we manage or consult on by 10-15 per cent. If we have a good hatching as well as post-hatching weather, leading to average brood sizes of seven chicks or above, this will lead to another bumper year – even, possibly, another record one. The transformation in the fortune of grouse estates over the last two decades because of better management, as well as modern and much improved medicated grit, really has to be seen to be believed.
Despite the possible numbers of birds that might be harvested in 2015, demand for grouse shooting remains strong, particularly on well-managed moors which have a well-deserved reputation. Moors with good lodges or excellent hotels closeby, high quality infrastructure such as roads and butts, and that really understand what is in effect a branch of the hospitality industry, have had no problem in finding tenants. As a result, early season grouse shooting is continuing to sell at between £140 and £160 (plus VAT) a brace, but this drops away towards the end of September and October to perhaps £120 to £130. At the end of the season, shooting can occasionally be bought for as low as £100 (plus VAT) a brace.
It is a fact that later in the season it can become increasingly hard to let smaller grouse days in the more remote parts of Scotland, almost entirely down to the difficulties of travel. Most grouse moor tenants for mid and later season days come from the UK, and as a result, their preference is to shoot in the North of England. It is also much more likely that you will experience more disruptive weather the further north you go, particularly in late October or November. However to compensate, the quality of shooting in the Highlands can be awesome, with birds often travelling at 70mph. But it can get very cold on exposed Scottish hillside in November – bad weather insurance really is a must when shooting at that time of year.
Grouse are still the number one gamebird in the UK, and whether it is a sunny early season day in August spent on an English moor or a late season day in the Highlands with exocets flying towards the butts, you really have not lived until you have tried it!
J M Osborne is a director of William Powell Sporting, one of the main letting agents for grouse shooting in the UK. www.williampowell.com
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