Does 'diversionary feeding' strategy offer a lifeline for Scotland's highly endangered capercaillies?

Brighter times ahead for Scotland's capercaillies?

COULD a way have been found to reverse the population decline of capercaillies in the Scottish highlands?

The eggs and young of the species are thought to have been particularly vulnerable to predation by pine martens (itself a protected species) and other mammalian predators.

But by leaving alternative food such as hens' eggs and venison at strategic locations  across 60 sq km  capercaillie habitat across the Cairngorms, scientists have reported an 83 per cent increase in nest survival.

The findings of the 'diversionary feeding' experiment have been reported in the Journal of Applied Ecology.

The researcher-in-chief was Jack Bamber of the University of Aberdeen's School of Biological Sciences who has been liaising closely with other parties including Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and the RSPB whose Abernethy Forest nature centre was included within the trial area.

The experiment will now be rolled out across other parts of Scotland in the hope of increasing the capercaillie population which had slumped to fewer than 600 birds.

Signage at the RSPB's nature centre at Abernethy Forest - part of the trial area