Black grouse have declined dramatically across Scotland and northern England. Their welfare depends on the specific mosaic of heather moorland, woodland edge and boggy ground their ecology requires.
Black grouse that cannot locate suitable lek sites within their home range cannot breed successfully. The loss of traditional lek sites through habitat degradation or human disturbance prevents the social display behaviour that is fundamental to the species' reproductive ecology. Males engaged in prolonged lek display invest significant energy in a behaviour that is easily disrupted by human presence, dogs or machinery. Females nesting in degraded habitat with insufficient cover face higher predation rates and lower chick survival. The welfare of individual black grouse is tightly linked to the quality and connectivity of the habitat mosaic they depend on throughout their annual cycle.