BTO - Breeding Birds of the Wider Countryside: Yellow Wagtail

YELLOW WAGTAIL
Motacilla flava

• Population
changes

• Productivity
trends

• Additional
information

Conservation listings

Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: amber (25–50% population decline)
UK Biodiversity Action Plan: in preparation

Long-term trend

UK, England: rapid decline

UK population size

11,500–26,500 territories in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS and WBS trends: BiE04, APEP06)

Status summary

Britain holds almost the entire population of the distinctive race flavissima, and so population changes in the UK are of special signficance. Yellow Wagtails have been in decline since the early 1980s, according to CBC/BBS and especially WBS, and have now been moved from the green to the amber list. Further losses since 1999 already suggest that red listing is appropriate. Monitoring samples along waterways may soon become too small to continue the annual index. Gibbons et al. (1993) identified a range contraction towards a core area in central England, concurrent with the early years of decline. Farmland drainage, the conversion of pasture to arable land, the change from spring to winter cereals, and the loss of insects associated with cattle have been cited as possible causes (Gibbons et al. 1993, Nelson et al. 2003). Although nest record sample sizes are small, there has been a notable reduction in brood size since the mid 1960s.

Population changes

Table of population changes for Yellow Wagtail

Source	Period (yrs)	Years	Plots (n)	Change (%)	Lower limit	Upper limit	Alert	Comment
CBC/BBS UK	38	1967-2005	68	-70	-86	-39	>50
	25	1980-2005	86	-67	-81	-47	>50
	10	1995-2005	164	-33	-44	-23	>25
	5	2000-2005	147	-17	-26	-7
CBC/BBS England	38	1967-2005	66	-68	-84	-40	>50
	25	1980-2005	84	-65	-79	-44	>50
	10	1995-2005	161	-32	-45	-19	>25
	5	2000-2005	143	-16	-26	-3
WBS waterways	30	1975-2005	19	-96	-99	-93	>50	Small sample
	25	1980-2005	17	-96	-99	-94	>50	Small sample
	10	1995-2005	10	-87	-92	-81	>50	Small sample
BBS UK	10	1995-2005	155	-37	-48	-26	>25
	5	2000-2005	145	-16	-26	-6
BBS England	10	1995-2005	152	-36	-49	-25	>25
	5	2000-2005	141	-15	-27	-6

Productivity trends

Table of productivity changes for Yellow Wagtail

Variable	Period (yrs)	Years	Mean annual sample	Trend	Modelled in first year	Modelled in 2005	Change	Comment
Brood size	37	1968-2005	13	Linear decline	4.83 chicks	4.35 chicks	-9.9%	Small sample

Insufficient data on clutch size
available for this species

Insufficient data on nest failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on nestling failure
available for this species

Insufficient data on laying date
available for this species

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species

Additional information


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This report should be cited as: Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Crick, H.Q.P., Noble, D.G., Balmer, D.E., Barimore, C., Coombes, R.H., Downie, I.S., Freeman, S.N., Joys, A.C., Leech, D.I., Raven, M.J., Robinson, R.A. & Thewlis, R.M. (2007) Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2007. BTO Research Report No. 487. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends) Pages maintained by Susan Waghorn and Iain Downie: Last updated 3 January, 2008