64 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
insectlifeduetothelackofmoisture.Asthe
summerworeonandmoorsdried,grouse
weretravellinglongdistancestodrinkand
congregatinginnumberswhere therewas
availablewater,spreading diseaseandthe
worm burden, further weakening stocks
thatwerealreadystruggling.
Itwasa deeplydepressingsituationfor
moorland keepers and estate owners, to
say nothing of the revenue loss to local
economies– thegrouseseasonis estimated
tobeworth £32millionin Scotlandalone
- andyettherewerepocketsofgoodnews
hereandthere.A fewofthelowermoorsin
CountyDurhamandEastNorthumberland
wereable toshowgrouse andtherewere
patchy areas in the Pennines, Angus
and Aberdeenshire. However, the major
exceptionwastheNorthYorkMoors,some
of which performed fantastically well and
A
combination of adverse
factorscombinedtomake
the 2018 grouse season
the worst in more than
30 years and led to an
estimated75%ofletdays
acrosstheuplandsofNorthernEnglandand
Scotland being cancelled. The winter was
unremittinglylong,coldandwetbutat theend
ofFebruary,justwhenthehoursofdaylight
werelengtheningandgroundtemperatures
beginning to rise,the Beast from the East
struck, bringing high winds, drifting snow
and unusually low temperatures. On high
ground, below-freezing weather and snow
cover lastedwellintothemiddle ofMarch
whentherewasanotherblizzard,followedby
a furtherfallofsnowattheendofthemonth.
Heatherwouldnormallybegintogreen
up in mid to late April, providing vital
nutrition and energy forhen grouse, but
due tothe exceptionallycold springthere
was no new growth for birds that were
alreadyinverypoorconditionwhenthey
wenttolay.Inevitably,thelackofproper
sustenancehadanimpacton eggfertility,
brood sizes and thehen’s abilityto look
afterthosechicks thatsurvived.Ontopof
which,thecoldspringwasfollowedbythe
longestsustainedheatwavesincethe1970s,
heatherwasslowtorecover,cottongrass
was late to flower and there was a dearth of
