Fence collisions and marking

GROUSE RECOVERY PROJECT

THE

BLACK

NORTH PENNINES

Information sheet 1:

in partnership

with

ContactsFor more information about conserving black grouse in theNorth Pennines, please contact the Project Officer:

Phil WarrenBlack Grouse Recovery Project OfficerThe Game Conservancy TrustThe Gillett, Forest-in-TeesdaleBarnard Castle, County Durham, DL12 0HA

T: 01833 622208, F: 01833 622343E: pwarren@gct.org.uk

Head office:The Game Conservancy Trust,Fordingbridge,Hampshire, SP6 1EFT: 01425 652381F: 01425 651026E: info@gct.org.uk

www.gct.org.uk

Ministry ofDefence

NorthumbrianWater

No reproduction without permission.All rights reserved.

© The Game Conservancy Trust,September 2002

supported by

GROUSE RECOVERY PROJECT

THE

BLACK

NORTH PENNINES

The problem

Local reports show that black grouse collisions with some stockfences can be frequent. During limited one-off searches duringthe winter of 2000/01 we found 1.4 carcasses per kilometre.

Bird collisions with fences are widely documented.Twoquantified studies in the Scottish Highlands have reportedaverage collision rates for black grouse on deer fences of 0.4and 0.6 per kilometre per year and identified such a rate aspotentially damaging the population.The reports from theNorth Pennines, including those above, do not quantify anycollision rate but do indicate they can be within a similarorder of magnitude as for Highland deer fences.

Strict quantification of collision rates and their impact onblack grouse populations in the North Pennines would be timeconsuming and expensive, but there appears to be certainconditions where stock fences pose a particularly severeproblem for black grouse.These include exposed positions,especially convex breaks of slope, proximity to lek sites (thebirds’ display arenas) and also to favoured feeding areas.

Fencing is frequently advocated or necessary to controlgrazing for conservation purposes.This can include enhancingground vegetation and also planting trees for black grouse.Collisions with fencing could mitigate such otherwise positiveactions and, in extreme cases, outweigh them.Werecommend marking stock fences, particularly the top wireto make them more visible to flying birds. Several options formarking exist, including coloured barrier netting, reflective

metal plates and bundles of heather. Coloured netting iswidely considered unacceptable in open landscapes andattaching bundles of heather can be time consuming.Although not proven, the fixing of metal plates is reportedto be effective at reducing collisions by red grouse.

Recommendations

Seek advice on the siting of new fences within theoccupied range of black grouse from the Black GrouseRecovery Project Officer.

All identified problem stretches of fencing should beremoved if possible.Alternatively, mark them and lower thewire.

To maximise visibility to flying birds, the top wire shouldbe marked at least once between each upright post withreflective metal plates or bundles of heather.

All new grant-aided fences (for grazing management andtree planting) within areas occupied by black grouse(information available from the Black Grouse RecoveryProject Officer) should incorporate the costs of marking.

Relevant agencies should consider making grants availablefor repositioning, marking and lowering top wires onexisting problem fences.