A throwback from the Ice Age, in recent years capercaillies have been a dwindling feature of Scotland’s pine forests. 

Now the country’s rarest game bird - the largest of the grouse family which boasts a wingspan of more than a metre – could be rescued by the most modern of methods.

DNA extracted from capercaillie feathers and other material found at brood sites in Cairngorm forests is playing a key role in helping to pinpoint how many of the rare birds remain in the wild and helping to form strategies for their future protection. 

However, it is already feared that numbers have dropped so low, that the birds’ are already facing a “genetic bottleneck” raising concerns over their ability to adapt and survive in the face of climate change.

That has raised the possibility of birds being introduced from other European locations to strengthen and support the native population. A similar suggestion has been made by conservationists working to save the Scottish wildcat.

Capercaillie DNA work is being done by scientists at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), at its WildGenes Laboratory, which has also carried out genetic work research on Scotland’s red squirrel, white-tailed eagle and golden eagle populations. 

It is part of a wider capercaillie conservation project focused on a corner of Cairngorm National Park popular with tourists and where clusters of the distinctive black feathered birds have been found. 

The Cairngorms Capercaillie Project has seen around 80% of the local Carrbridge community just outside Aviemore agree to throw their support behind a mission to survey capercaillie in the area, leading to the creation of the country’s first Capercaillie Conservation Strategy.

Once complete, it is hoped it will form a blueprint for other communities living in capercaillie areas to develop their own action plans to help save the iconic bird from possible extinction. 

The project has already seen a massive community response, with volunteers devoting over 1000 hours of their own time across a range of projects designed to improve the habitat for capercaillie to thrive, sharing sightings and signs of the birds, raising awareness of the birds’ plight and gathering vital information about their habits and numbers. 

Efforts to protect the species have been dramatically stepped up amid concerns that numbers of capercaillie have plunged from around 20,000 in the 1970s to just over 1000 remaining birds – the equivalent of one capercaillie lost every day. 

The birds are at particular risk from loss of habitat, predators and changing climate: wetter weather in spring which leaves chicks vulnerable from cold and starvation. 

Meanwhile, fences constructed to protect young trees have also been found to lead to casualties among the capercaillie population while general disturbance of their territory is also said to be a key factor in their demise. 

The capercaillie – whose Gaelic name translates as “horse of the forest” – lives in the pine forest of Strathspey and Deeside all year round. The birds feeds on pine needles, berries and leaves, but are notoriously shy, tending to stay avoid areas within around 100 metres of well-used paths. 

That means the areas left for them to feed, breed and raise young have become restricted – a particular issue during nesting season when hens have been known to leave their eggs unattended or be separated from their brood if disturbed.

While hens typically lay up to eight eggs, usually just one chick survives to adulthood, making April to August – the most popular times for visitors to trek forest paths in the area – a crucial time for the remaining birds.

The DNA project involves the RZSS WildGenes lab working in collaboration with Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH); the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT); and The World Pheasant Association WPA). 

A spokeswoman for RZSS said: “Using DNA we can effectively 'count' individual birds without needing to find and identify them in the field. 

“DNA can be extracted from materials left behind at brood sites, such as the tip of the feather quill, and sets of DNA markers can then be employed to help identify capercaillie individuals. From there, estimates of the population size can then be made from the unique DNA profiles that are generated from these samples. 

“Collecting feathers for this is done in a careful and methodical fashion by experienced field-workers, to ensure that as many individual capercaillie are represented in the sample set as possible. 

“It is then down to the lab to analyse the resulting DNA profiles that emerge, to estimate the number of capercaillie individuals sampled. This knowledge then helps to ensure that there is a sustainable wild population, and informs any future conservation efforts for the species.”

There are now hopes for funding to carry out improvements across around 10,000 hectares of land where capercaillie are known to exist, including in the Carrbridge area.

Around 40 capercaillie are thought to live in the woods around the village, compared to approximately 50 in 2014. 

The habitat improvement work is expected to also benefit a number of other species in the area which also rely on healthy native pinewoods, including red squirrels.