PDNP: Place/Woodland/Oak-Birchwoods
Oak/Birchwood
species:
Black
Grouse
Tetrao tetrix
Thought to be commoner than
the
red
grouse
in Staffordshire in the 1600s, the black grouse declined throughout
the Peak District until 2000 when the last bird was seen.
The reason for the loss of the black grouse from the Peak District is unknown but it is thought to be due to the lack of a mosaic of different
habitats
- moorlands with wet areas for chicks to feed on insects, open fields for courting displays, woodland/scrub for shelter and flower-rich grasslands for adult feeding.
Re-introduction of the black grouse into the Peak District has been considered and a few birds were recently released. Similar programmes of re-introduction of birds such as the red kite have been successful in other parts of the country.
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