BIRD experts are hopeful that East Lancashire could see a return of Black Grouse for the first time in more than 20 years.

A study by the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has found that conditions in areas of the Bowland Fells are excellent for the rare bird, which had been struggling to survive in the UK.

But now the species is starting to bounce back after a succession of harsh winters wiped out large numbers.

But Dr Phil Warren, research scientist with the GWCT, which has been carrying out research into the birds, said areas of East Lancashire, like the Forest of Bowland, could play a vital role in the birds’ future.

He said: “Black Grouse were in Lancashire up until the late 1980s and the conditions there are suitable for them. It is an aspiration to introduce them back into Bowland and they are getting slowly but surely closer.”

Dr Warren said that the population had died out in East Lancashire because of increasingly intensive farm-ing in the area, but that if they could be reintroduced, it would be beneficial for other species.

He said: “They are a key bird on the moorland and 150 years ago, they were present in every county.

“We are a long way off, but it is realistic to expect them to get to the Bowland Fells.”

The black grouse population has doubled over the past two years, with around 1,000 of the species now in areas of Northumberland, County Durham, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.