The fight against the decline of an endangered bird has been given a massive boost.
Donations raised through a partnership featuring the Famous Grouse distillery have already provided £300,000 towards black grouse conservation.
The link-up between the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Scotland and the Black Grouse whisky has now been extended for three years.
It is expected that the partnership will see a further £150,000 committed to the four reserves involved.
There are plans in place to provide a dedicated black grouse officer, as well as extending conservation work across new reserves.
The Famous Grouse, based in Crieff, teamed up with the RSPB in 2008 to launch their latest spirit for every bottle sold, 50 pence is donated to the charity.
Recent figures are now showing that this investment is beginning to have an impact with the number of male birds either stabilising or increasing over the first three years of the initiative.
At Geltsdale in Cumbria, where there has been significant work, the lek (display site where males compete to mate with females) more than doubled from 18 males to 45 in the last two years.
These reserves also appear to be acting as nurseries, driving the establishment of new leks in the surrounding areas, a key objective of the partnership.Magnificent birdFamous Grouse director Gerry O’Donnell said: “It’s great to see our investment is starting to make a difference. By extending our partnership with the RSPB we will be able to continue the fantastic work which has begun around the UK to ensure we save this rare and magnificent bird.”
The four RSPB reserves to have benefited so far are Inversnaid by Loch Lomond, Corrimony by the Great Glen, Lake Vyrnwy in Wales and Geltsdale.
Habitat improvements have included planting native trees and grassland to increase nesting, feeding, displaying and roosting areas.
In future, Abernethy and Wood of Cree will also receive investment as well as appointing a dedicated black grouse officer.
RSPB Scotland director Stuart Housden said: “The black grouse is a remarkable and charismatic bird but without urgent conservation programmes such as this we could see it disappear from large areas of the UK altogether.
“The partnership with The Black Grouse whisky has been a real success story, and a great example of how businesses and charities can work together to help make a difference to our precious natural heritage.”
He added: “The new tranche of funds means we can extend our work to more reserves across the UK.”