Counting Grouse Pairs on the Moor.

As I work my pointers on the grouse moors together with my fantastic friend, Anne Johnson, we are involved in the grouse counting from time to time. Early in the year, February-March-April, the grouse is pairing up ready for the breeding season. The pairs are very territorial, so as you work the pointer across the moor, you will come across a steady supply of grouse pairs as you pass through their territories. A steady supply of grouse is at least what the ‘keepers are hoping for. The purpose of the spring count is to get an idea of how well the grouse have survived the winter and therefore what sort of stock there is to breed the grouse for the opening of the season on 12th August.
Here, I managed to see the cock grouse as Alice was on point. This happens a lot in the spring count as the cocks are literally “cocky” as they sit up and look out for anybody approaching. They are much braver than any other time of the year, when they will mostly sit tight, hoping to hide.

With the snow still hanging on to patches of the hills in the back ground, Tippex is pointing.

In the spring sun, walking/ hunting hard, it can actually be very hot up on the hill. I caught Tippex running across a small patch of hard snow and as she crossed it, she just rammed her mouth in it to pick up a mouthful of refreshing snow.


Sometimes you catch stuff on a camera, that you would not otherwise have noticed.