The breeding and migratory periods
for huntable species in Europe

by Humphrey Q P Crick

The hunting of birds in Europe is controlled under the European Birds Directive. This directive (officially known by its number 79/409/CEE) was adopted by the EU in 1979 and concerns not only the protection of birds but also of their habitats. As with all such directives, it a binding "legal instrument": member states must comply with the obligations it imposes upon them by adopting the necessary laws, regulations and so on, to comply with the provisions laid down in the directive.

The Directive establishes a general system of protection for all species of naturally occurring wild birds in the Europe. In particular it requires the protection of sufficient areas of natural habitat for 181 species and subspecies listed on Annex 1 of the Directive.

Also, it lists 80 species on its Annex II that may be hunted under national legislation. However, Member States are required to ensure that hunting does not jeopardise conservation efforts for these species and that hunting complies with the principles of wise use and ecologically balanced control of the species concerned. Species must not be hunted during the various stages of the breeding season, including the period during which the young birds are still dependent on the adults and migratory species must not be hunted during their return to their breeding grounds.

Unfortunately, in the late 1990s, it became apparent that the member states did not have an agreed set of data on the migration periods and breeding seasons of huntable species. In particular, this arose because in June 1998, the French National Parliament passed a law allowing hunting of migratory waterbirds to continue until 28 February, instead of 31 January, which had been the previously accepted date, and accepted throughout the rest of the EU. Furthermore hunting could start in July, when some species were still breeding.

So the European Commission called on its ORNIS Committee, which had been established to adapt the Birds Directive to technical and scientific progress, to undertake such a review. The UK representative on the committee, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, asked the BTO to provide advice on these periods. The advice will soon be incorporated by ORNIS into a useful set of web pages. An older set of ORNIS information can be found at the web pages below, but these should be viewed with caution as they will be updated in due course.

Each species account starts with a short introduction that briefly presents information on the world distribution of each species, migratory movements, population trends and the total world population. This introduction is accompanied by a map showing the breeding range of the species in Europe. For the migratory species there is also a map that displays the beginning of the spring migration in each region. For sedentary species, there is a chart showing the end of the breeding season in each region (although it appear information from the UK has not yet been incorporated). Dates are presented in monthly decades (A = first 10 days of the month, B = 11th to 20th day, C = 21st day to last day of the month). Each month (indicated in roman figures) corresponds to a colour: yellow for January, green for February, blue for March, magenta for April, etc.

The web pages cover groups of species in taxonomic order:

• Mute Swan to Shoveler
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file20.htm#cygnusolor
• Red-crested Pochard to Goosander
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file21.htm#nettarufina
• Hazel Grouse to Common Turkey
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file22.htm#bonasabonasia
• Water Rail to Woodcock
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file23.htm#rallusaquaticus
• Black-tailed Godwit to Great Black-backed Gull
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file24.htm#limosalimosa
• Rock Pigeon to Mistle Thrush
  http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/file25.htm#columbalivia
• Starling to Carrion Crow (not currently available)

(For the complete list pf species and information on species listed in Annex 1, including their population sizes in each country, link to http://www.kbinirsnb.be/cb/ornis/species.htm)

This advice page was prepared as part of work funded by a partnership of the BTO and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales, and also on behalf of the Environment & Heritage Service in Northern Ireland).

Back to Information for Conservationists index