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BTO Blueline
DIPPER
Cinclus cinclus
 Dipper © Tommy Holden
 

• Population
  changes

• Productivity
  trends

• Additional
  information
Conservation listings
Europe: no SPEC category (favourable conservation status in Europe, not concentrated in Europe)
UK: green
Long-term trend
UK: fluctuating, with no long-term trend
UK population size
6,800–20,000 pairs in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using WBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)
Status summary
The WBS trend shows that Dipper populations have fluctuated over the last thirty years, but shown little overall trend. The species is unusually sensitive to acidity and other water pollution (Ormerod & Tyler 1989, 1990), with lower breeding densities and productivity on acidic than on more neutral streams (Ormerod et al. 1991, Vickery 1991, 1992). Breeding performance has improved strongly over time, and laying dates have shifted earlier, perhaps because of climate change (Crick & Sparks 1999). Broods now average larger than in the late 1960s and 1970s, and there has been substantial reduction in failure rates of nests at the egg stage.
 

Population changes
 
Table of population changes for Dipper

Source Period
(yrs)		 Years Plots
(n)		 Change
(%)		 Lower
limit		 Upper
limit		 Alert Comment
WBS waterways 31 1975-2006 35 -11 -38 28    
  25 1981-2006 37 4 -28 49    
  10 1996-2006 31 3 -16 32    
  5 2001-2006 29 -3 -16 15    
BBS UK 11 1995-2006 51 0 -26 36    
  10 1996-2006 52 -2 -27 27    
  5 2001-2006 53 -7 -23 7    


BBS Partners image
 
BBS UK graph
 

Productivity trends
Table of productivity changes for Dipper

Variable Period
(yrs)		 Years Mean
annual
sample		 Trend Modelled
in first year		 Modelled
in 2006		 Change Comment
Clutch size 38 1968-2006 72 Curvilinear 4.48 eggs 4.5 eggs 0.4%  
Brood size 38 1968-2006 135 Curvilinear 3.4 chicks 3.69 chicks 8.6%  
Daily failure rate (eggs) 38 1968-2006 100 Curvilinear 2.57% nests/day 0.33% nests/day -87.2%  
Daily failure rate (chicks) 38 1968-2006 78 Curvilinear 0.59% nests/day 0.62% nests/day 5.1%  
Laying date 38 1968-2006 59 Linear decline Apr 18 Apr 9 -9 days  

 

 

 

Insufficient data on CES
available for this species
 

Additional information
BTO blue divider
 

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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G.,
Barimore, C., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2009).
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2008.
BTO Research Report No. 516. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 18.02.2009