National Nightjar Survey 2004

Organised by the BTO, RSPB, English Nature and Forestry Commission for England, Scotland and Wales.

Background

The Nightjar is a breeding visitor to the UK, wintering in Africa. In the UK, their historical distribution used to extend across the whole of mainland Britain, although it was always most numerous in southern England and Wales. The last national survey of Nightjars was in 1992 and revealed a total of 3,400 churring males at 1,194 sites, representing an increase of 50% since the previous survey in 1981 and a partial recovery following a decline in breeding range between the 1930’s and 1970’s.  The majority of males were found in forestry plantations (54%) and lowland heath (38%).

Conservation status

Much of the recovery between 1981 and 1992 has been attributed to afforested heaths in young plantations and large scale felling of mature conifer plantations across Britain, leading to areas of clear-fell and new restocks. Also the restoration of lowland heathlands for conservation is increasing the availability of suitable habitat for Nightjars.  Conversely, the felling phase of forestry has slowed now and it is likely that the availability of suitable habitat in forestry has peaked.

Also, over 50% of the UK breeding population of Nightjars occurs on 10 or fewer ‘sites’ (including some very large sites). Its 1992 distribution was particularly sparse in Scotland with small numbers recorded in Dumfries and Galloway but few elsewhere. In the UK its amber-list criteria reflects it’s limited breeding distribution and vulnerability to habitat change, and the fact that the global population of European Nightjar also has an unfavourable conservation status. 

It is timely now to assess the current status of Nightjars in the UK, in view of

i)	the requirements of the Biodiversity Action Plan for conservation management and recreation of lowland heathland,
ii)	the need for baseline information for implementation of open access under The Countryside & Rights of Way Act 2000 (CRoW).

Results

Observers covered around 3,264 1-km squares, in 2004. Around 78% of the target habitat was covered overall and 90% of habitat in southern England. An estimated number of 4,606 for 2004 represents a 36% increase in 12 years. A summary of changes in the number of churring males, by county, is given in Table 1. However, there was evidence of population declines and range contractions in north Wales, north west England and Scotland. Fifty-seven percent of the Nightjars in 2004 were associated with forest plantations and 59% with heathland. National objectives for Nightjar conservation (UK Biodiversity Action Plan - UKBAP) were reached in respect of population size and stability but the target for a 5% range increase by 2003 was not met. In 2004, Nightjars occupied 275 10-km squares, representing a 2.6% increase from 1992. Overall, the continued increase in the national population is attributable to habitat protection, management and restoration of heathlands, and the continued availability of clearfell/young plantations in conifer forests. Management or protection of these key habitats remains critical for the long-term objectives of the UKBAP. The issue of providing foraging habitats too is also raised.

Table 1. A comparison of the unadjusted number of churring males by county for 1992 and 2004.

Region	County	1992 totals	2004 totals	Change in no. males	% change
Scotland	Dumfries & Galloway	31	25	-6	-19
	Strathclyde 1992	6	0	-6	[-]
	Grampian (Moray)	1	0	-1	[-]
	Caithness	1	0	-1	[-]
	Stirling (Central 1992)	2	2	0	0
	Scotland total	41	27	-14	-34
Northern England	Cleveland	0	2	2	[+]
	Cumbria	6	6	0	0
	Durham	19	16	-3	-16
	E. Yorkshire (Humberside 1992)	18	8	-10	-56
	Gtr Manchester	1	0	-1	[-]
	Lancashire	1	0	-1	[1]
	North Yorkshire	114	229	115	101
	Northumberland	43	10	-33	-78
	South Yorkshire	89	37	-52	-58
	West Yorkshire	1	0	-1	[-]
	Northern England total	292	308	16	5
Midlands	Buckinghamshire	1	1	0	0
	Derbyshire	4	3	-1	-25
	Gloucestershire	12	18	6	50
	Hereford (& Worcestershire)	1	0	-1	[-]
	Leicestershire & Rutland	0	2	2	[+]
	Northamptonshire	3	1	-2	-67
	Nottinghamshire	73	66	-7	-10
	Oxfordshire	0	2	2	[+]
	Shropshire	1	0	-1	[-]
	Staffordshire	29	66	37	128
	Midlands total	124	159	35	28
Wales (Old Counties)	Clwyd	39	35	-4	-10
	Dyfed	11	55	44	400
	Glamorgan (W Mid S)	33	56	23	70
	(Glam South)	(1)	(0)	(-1)	[-]
	(Glam Mid)	(3)	(18)	(15)	(500)
	(Glam W)	(29)	(46)	(17)	(59)
	Gwent	28	48	20	71
	Gwynedd	45	15	-30	-67
	Powys	32	35	3	9
	Wales total	188	244	56	30
Eastern England	Bedfordshire	4	0	-4	[-]
	Lincolnshire	41	52	11	27
	Norfolk	223	313	90	40
	Suffolk	317	284	-33	-11
	Eastern England total	585	649	64	11
South East England	Berkshire	39	78	39	100
	Hampshire	514	781	267	52
	Hertfordshire	1	0	-1	[-]
	Isle of Wight	59	19	-40	-68
	Kent	79	45	-34	-43
	Surrey	133	302	169	127
	Sussex	175	243	68	39
	South East England total	1000	1468	468	47
South West England	Cornwall	16	29	13	81
	Devon	230	333	103	45
	Dorset	536	751	215	40
	Somerset	57	158	101	177
	Wiltshire	24	5	-19	-79
	South West England total	863	1276	413	48
Total		3093	4131	1038	34
Note: Where counties have gained or lost breeding populations between the 1992 and 2004 surveys, percentage change values are not valid and have been indicated by [-] for lost from and [+] for gained.

 

Contacts: E-mail: greg.conway@bto.org or Ian Henderson E-mail: ian.henderson@bto.org at BTO Thetford.