The partners of the LIFE+ Cantabrian capercaillie project have visited the Abernethy Nature Reserve in Scotland to promote the exchange of experiences with other managers of European capercaillie populations and to learn about the actions that have been carried out for more than 20 years to promote their populations. The Biodiversity Foundation, coordinator of the project, has participated together with other project partners in this visit organized by SEO/Birdlife in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) between April 21 and 24.

Active habitat management

During the field days, the project and RSPB technicians visited different areas of the Abernethy Reserve, as well as other nearby forests in which actions are also carried out to promote capercaillie populations.

Despite the differences between the Scottish pine forests and the Cantabrian Mountains, several experiences are applicable in the management of populations of this species, which are at risk of extinction.

According to the partners of the LIFE+ Cantabrian capercaillie project, the conservation of the capercaillie requires active management of its habitats, as is the case in all European places with isolated and fragmented populations of this species (Scotland, France, Germany and Poland). They also consider it necessary to act jointly on the maximum number of threat factors, evaluate the results and continue to advance in their knowledge.

In the case of Scotland, the actions in the management of these populations have mainly consisted of favouring the heterogeneity of the forests through thinning, clearing and controlled burning, the aim of which is to enhance the presence of the blueberry in the understory and to maintain varied habitats that the species uses at different times of the year, such as open areas with the presence of old and large trees. areas with abundant dead wood on the ground or territories where no action is carried out with a high density of trees.

To prevent the structure of the vegetation from deteriorating, deer population controls are also developed, whose presence in high densities harms blueberry growth and the natural regeneration of forests.

With the exception of controlled burning, these practices are very similar to those that have been included in the habitat management manual for the conservation of the Cantabrian capercaillie, prepared by LIFE+ Cantabrian capercaillie.

Nuisances and predators: limiting factors

During the visit it has been observed that there are factors that have a negative effect on capercaillie populations. On the one hand, human disturbance due to the great tourist pressure, especially at certain times of the year, and the high density of tracks and paths, which seems to affect females in particular, and, on the other hand, predation, which is greater in forests that are closer to agricultural areas.

To reduce the inconvenience in these cases, Scotland recommends following the marked paths and keeping dogs on a leash. In addition, tracks and trails have been closed and restored. Methods to reduce the effect of predation are also being studied, such as the installation of supplementary feeding points for carnivores or the translocation of carnivores to other areas.

Learn about other experiences

Since the beginning of the project, the LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie team has participated in technical meetings and international seminars with the aim of learning more about other recovery experiences of the species. In addition to organising two technical meetings with the RSPB, the LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie has visited the Gallipyr project team (Pyrenean Network of Mountain Galliforms) in Orlu Formiguères (France), to learn about French experiences in forest management and predator control for the conservation of the species. The work of the Lorraine Region in France, which leads the LIFE+ Tétras Vosges and which, in 2012, visited the LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie in the Cantabrian Mountains, to learn in situ about the conservation and habitat improvement actions carried out within the framework of the project, was also known.

These international exchanges are being very useful for the application of various forest management measures for Cantabrian capercaillie populations.

LIFE+ Cantabrian Capercaillie

The LIFE+ project “Urgent action programme for the conservation of the capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus cantabricus) and its habitat in the Cantabrian Mountains” has as its main objective to halt the decline of this subspecies exclusive to the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula and promote its recovery.

The actions of the project aim to improve their conservation status and that of their habitat, promote environmental education and encourage awareness and participation in society.

The area of action includes 16 SPAs of the Natura 2000 Network in the Cantabrian Mountains and is developed between October 2010 and September 2014. The project, coordinated by the Biodiversity Foundation, is 50% co-financed through the LIFE+ programme, the European Union’s financial instrument for the environment, and has as partners the Autonomous Communities of Cantabria, the Principality of Asturias and Castilla y León, the latter through the Natural Heritage Foundation of Castilla y León; the Interregional Consortium for the Coordinated Management of the Picos de Europa National Park; SEO/BirdLife and with funding from the Autonomous National Parks Agency and the Iberdrola Foundation.

The information on the project can be consulted on the website: www.lifeurogallo.es