Spring Grouse Report 2026

30th April 2026

The outlook for red grouse in Spring 2026 is encouraging, with stocks showing clear improvement following last year. Birds appear to have come through the winter better than expected given the food quality and they seem to be in very good condition, benefiting overall from favourable survival rates.

Although the winter was mild and wet which are conditions that are not typically ideal for grouse, numbers across many moors have nevertheless rebounded well after the challenging breeding season of 2025. While some areas remain below optimal levels, overall stock in other areas is stronger than it has been in recent years and the key note being that everyone seems to have a fairly young stock of grouse which is good news all round. Encouragingly, pair counts are good across most moors, and worm burdens remain at the lowest we have seen in over 10 years across the UK.

We had seen real signs of improvement in the heather condition over the winter months from last year’s heather beetle and draught damage. But unfortunately, as we moved through April there have been noticeable beetle emergences again during warmer spring days, the habitat is showing resilience at this stage though. The winds in April were not consistently from the east which has meant that a lot of the beetle hatches have been blown off the Moors and into the low ground areas and the sea especially in areas like the North York Moors.

Taken together, these factors point toward a positive outlook on this season for now if the beetle damage does not prove too detrimental to the survival of the young chicks once they move off the insects. While it is still early, there is cautious confidence that grouse will continue to perform as the season progresses.

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