Red Grouse

Red Grouse (Galway) - Paul Kelly, www.irishbirdimages.com

Good to see this news item about Red Grouse in Co. Antrim on the BBC NI News website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-12338968 

Red Grouse is a very localised bird in Northern Ireland and can only be seen by putting in effort to find them.

They do breed in every county in suitable upland habitat but they have suffered a dramatic population decrease since the 1920s and especially in the last 30 years. It is difficult to ascertain the present status of the species in Northern Ireland but a "guesstimate" in the 1990’s was of 100 to 500 pairs.

Sites where more common reports occur from are from Black Mountain, Belfast, Slieveanorra, Co. Antrim, Murley, Co. Tyrone, Slieve Beagh, Co. Tyrone \ Fermanagh, Slieve Gallion, Co. Londonderry and Glenshane, Co. Londonderry.