Bird conservation: Hidden cameras used to monitor Cairngorms capercaillie population

Conservationists are using hidden camera to monitor the capercaillie population.

The birds are at risk of extinction in the UK, with only 542 estimated to be left in Scotland.

In Scotland, the population has declined since the 1960s due to hunting and loss of habitat.

The cameras, which can check on the birds without disturbing them, are across 60,000 hectares in the Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.

Cameras have been placed across the national park and the images they collect will be processed to help the team assess how many of the birds have hatched and survived during the 2022 breeding season.

The work was done by Jack Bamber, a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen. He said in the past highly trained dogs have been used to check on the birds, but "now, with inexpensive camera technology, we can keep an eye on them without disturbing or distressing them."

Bamber said capercaillies love to bathe and clean themselves in dust, so they placed 80 cameras near their bath locations.

They've collected over 300,000 images and around 3,000 have pictures of capercaillies.

The most recent survey in Scotland found that the population of the bird had dropped around 50% since the last report six years ago.

Conservation scientists say there are a few reasons the numbers are declining, which include cold, wet spring weather.

This has an impact of the female birds before breeding season and affects the chicks survival.

Predators are another reason for the low numbers. The Cairngorms Connect Predator Project, specifically puts food for the capercaillie's predators in areas to distract the predators and keep them away from the bird's nests and chicks.

Kenny Kortland, lead on this project, says that reducing one species of predator, such as foxes, wouldn't really help the capercaillies, because there is a range of different predator species that are around.

"Therefore, we are trying to distract all the predators with free and easy-to-access food. This approach has worked in a long-term study in Norway, so we are hoping to replicate this success in Scotland."

The team hope that using these hidden cameras, which don't disturb the birds, can help them understand the risks better and therefore learn what needs to be done to help protect this species from extinction.