Some of the rarest birds in Britain have been found using special feeding areas set aside for them in the Cairngorms.

The group planning the creation of the Cairngoms National Park says 34 species of threatened and declining bird species have been listed.

They include the capercaillie which faces extinction within a decade.

Conservationists say the success of the scheme shows the importance of people being involved in protected areas rather than being excluded from them.

Capercaillie could die out in a decade

The Cairngorms Partnership says its biodiversity action plan encourages local farmers and crofters to plant and harvest small "sacrificial" areas of grain and fodder crops.

These are set aside deliberately to encourage declining bird species.

Small-scale cereal farming in the area died out after the 1970s.

When the 12 "upland grain" sites were monitored, researchers recorded 50 different species of bird.

Ice age

As well as the capercaillie, they logged black grouse, grey partridge, linnet, skylark, song thrush and reed bunting.

Nearly �5m in European funding has now been secured to improve habitats for the capercaillie.

Dr Peter Cosgrove, the biodiversity officer appointed to promote the action plan, said: "It was immediately apparent that the Cairngorms area required special attention if the species and habitats here were to survive and flourish.

"In many cases, such as mountain habitats and native pinewood, the Cairngorms holds a large proportion of the total UK resource."

The choice is not between human interference and non-interference

Dr Peter Cosgrove

Dr Cosgrove said it was not simply a case of cordoning-off protected areas and keeping them free from any human interference.

It was vital that farmers, crofters, foresters, landowners, industrialists, academics and particularly local communities, were involved in the action plan at every stage.

Dr Cosgrove said: "Historical studies demonstrate that the landscape we see today has been shaped by human activities since the end of the last ice age, around 11,000 years ago.

"The choice is not between human interference and non-interference, but between the type and extent of management that should take place."

Park boundaries

Last month the Scottish Executive published the designation orders that will create the Cairngorms national park next year.

The orders extended the original proposed boundaries of the park.

They also made it clear that the Park Authority and the local authorites in the area will share planning powers.

Previously the National Trust for Scotland had warned that the national park would fail to deliver the economic development and landscape protection which is urgently needed.