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Burning heather on Offerton Moor

The heather was burnt to improve grazing quality for sheep, as was the tradition around here for a long time. Red grouse numbers have declined very much probably because of crows stealing eggs in spring but perhaps grouse shooting in the past reduced the population below a threshold where such predation began to be significant. Not far away near Ladybower Reservoir there is a comparatively huge population of red grouse.