“Rewilding efforts in part of the Scottish Highlands have led to Black Grouse numbers reaching their highest level for 17 years.

A study in the Affric Highlands near Inverness has found numbers are recovering well at sites where restoration of native woods, peatlands and wetlands is being carried out on a large scale.

The Affric Highlands and RSPB Scotland study involved trained volunteers counting the numbers of males going to leks at 14 locations between April and May this year. The team recorded 405 lekking males, up from 378 the last time the survey was done in 2021, and up from the 250 recorded in 2007.”

From BirdGuides.