Raptor Population Information

by Humphrey Q P Crick

In June 1995, the Government set up the UK Raptor Working Group (2000) in response to concerns raised by a range of interests about the increase in raptor populations in the UK. The Working Group's objectives were to:

Consider the population status of birds of prey Identify species alleged to be causing problems Identify the impact of such species on game birds, moorland management and on racing pigeons Identify gaps in research, future needs and possible sources of funding Consider statutory and other mechanisms for the resolution of problems.

As part of the process, the BTO was asked by JNCC to provide information on the population estimates for a number of species of raptors in the various parts of UK: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.

Since the publication of the report of the Working Group, the BTO has undertaken a further review (Greenwood et al. in press), which is due to be published in the Proceedings of a joint British Ornithologists' Union/Scottish Natural Heritage conference Birds of Prey in a Changing Environment held in Kincardine, Scotland, from 1-3 December 2000. Part of this paper summarises the most recent population estimates and trends but also describes how they were obtained. In particular it clarifies the units of counting used for each species, because the term "breeding pairs" can be ambiguous, and also considers what the estimates might mean in terms of the total population of full-grown birds in the country at the beginning of the breeding season. We provide below, some of the information from this paper to provide a clear statement of the best available population estimates, as available in 2001.

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