A feeding trial by researchers from two Scottish universities is helping to save the Scottish Capercaillie from extinction.
The diversionary feeding trial was launched in the cairngorms with just over 500 of the birds left in the wild.
The capercaillie is at the brink of extinction owing to its eggs and chicks being eaten by predators; including the protected Pine Marten.
However, Scotland’s capercaillie population has now seen an 83% increase in artificial nest survival thanks to an innovative research carried out in partnership between the University of Aberdeen, the University of St Andrews, FLS, RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and Wildland Ltd.
Jack Bamber, PhD researcher from the university of Aberdeen’s School of Biological Sciences who led the study, said: “Our idea was to fill the bellies of pine martens and other predators, like badgers, in capercaillie strongholds, predicting that once full of free food they would no longer search for eggs.”
The research trial is a first of its kind to be launched, and was carried out over 60 sqkm of land managed by the Cairngorms Connect Partnership.
Richard Mason, site manager at RSPB Scotland Abernethy, said it has been “conceived, delivered, tested, and rolled out on a landscape scale in less than four years".
It has then had RSPB Scotland Abernethy Forest see an increase in Capercaillie numbers, added Mason.
In partnership with land managers in the Cairngorms National Park, the trial saw the research team place 720 artificial nests filled with chicken eggs in historic capercaillie habitat.
Half of the nests had diversionary feeding stations with deer carrion set up nearby and the survival of the nests were monitored over an eight-week period.
This “increased the chance of a nest surviving by 83% compared to the nests without carrion available,” added Jack.
Kenny Kortland, wildlife ecologist with FLS and lead of the Cairngorms Connect Predator Project, said: “Predators are an important part of Scotland’s biodiversity but they can have a negative impact on rare species in certain circumstances.
"This exemplary research has provided strong evidence that we can reduce the impacts of predators without resorting to killing them. FLS and other managers are now rolling out this diversionary feeding to help capercaillie.”
By placing artificial nests filled with chicken eggs and bordered with deer meat in strategic locations, this diverted predators from feeding capercaillie eggs and chicks.
This discouraged them from foraging during the capercaillie breeding season, and hence the proven 83% nest survival rate.
This non-lethal control of predation strategy proved to be a “timely solution for conservation emergency, with implications for any place capercaillies call home,” added Jack.
This project was funded by NERC and the School of Biological Science at the University of Aberdeen through the Scottish Universities Partnership for Environmental Research Doctoral Training Partnership, and Forestry and Land Scotland, with support from Wildlands Ltd and RSPB Scotland.
Due to its effectiveness, Diversionary Feeding is now being adopted by Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), the RSPB Scotland and other partners in Deeside as well.
