The return of breeding Peregrines to former haunts, and the colonisation of urban sites such as industrial buildings and cathedrals, has not gone unnoticed by birdwatchers. It is only now, however, with the publication of the results from the latest national Peregrine survey, that we can put figures on the changing fortunes of this stunning bird of prey. The Peregrine breeding population in the UK and Isle of Man has been surveyed at intervals of 10 years since 1961/62. The first four surveys documented the recovery of the Peregrine population from the ‘crash’ of the 1960s (when numbers fell to less than half of the pre-war population) to the highest levels since recording began. The new national survey, carried out in 2014, sought to secure a new national population estimate and, in particular, to improve our knowledge of the species in lowland areas not traditionally regarded as being part of the Peregrine’s breeding range. The 2014 survey, co-ordinated by the BTO in partnership with many other raptor monitoring individuals and organisations, was made possible by the hard work of hundreds of volunteers. These fieldworkers surveyed a combination of known sites and randomly selected survey squares to secure evidence of occupation and breeding by Peregrines. The population estimate derived from the survey puts the UK Peregrine population at 1,769 breeding pairs, an increase of 22% on the previous survey (carried out in 2002). Most of the increase is accounted for by population growth in lowland England, with breeding Peregrines continuing to occupy new sites. Most of the inland breeding pairs utilise large cliffs, smaller crags or quarries, but an increasing proportion of pairs occupy man-made structures such as buildings, bridges, pylons and communication masks. Examination of the regional results reveals contrasting fortunes in Scotland, where there the population has declined overall. Worryingly, Peregrine populations are not doing well in the upland SPAs (Special Protection Areas) established to protect them, a pattern evident in both Scotland and northern England. Further losses of Peregrines from such areas might not pose a grave threat to the UK population, but could be important at a regional level. Possible factors associated with the poor performance of upland Peregrine populations may include prey abundance and availability, and illegal killing associated particularly with management of upland gamebirds for shooting, but also with recreational breeding and racing of domestic pigeons. Other factors may have affected Peregrine numbers at a local level; these include avoidance of Golden Eagles, oiling by Fulmars and exposure to a wide range of environmental pollutants. The findings of this survey provide an opportunity to investigate the effects of these and other issues, with complementary data sets – such as Bird Atlas 2007-11 or the RSPB’s data on upland land use – potentially of great value here.

A three-year study, supported by EDF Energy and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), has been able to identify that dry summer weather may be putting some of our favourite bird species at risk as it triggers a significant drop in the availability of earthworms close to the soil surface during the breeding season. The research was undertaken by thousands of schoolchildren in a nationwide science project to understand the effects of climate change on our soils and ecosystems, helping to inspire the next generation of ecologists. Nearly 15,000 school children from over 500 schools across the UK have been digging up small sections of their playing fields once a term in October, March and June, and counting and identifying the creatures they found living in the top 5cm of the turf. The results show that the invertebrate groups varied based on season and small-scale habitat factors. Earthworms were the most present group (93.1% of total invertebrate biomass) and were strongly associated with soil moisture, and therefore season. Other groups that were monitored included slugs and snails, woodlice, centipedes, spiders, beetles, ants, earwigs, Diptera larvae, beetle larvae and caterpillars, most of which became more common in spring and summer. The results suggest that climate change will not necessarily have large-scale impacts on soil invertebrate populations, but rather affect their availability through time. The project shows that large-scale citizen science at schools can be of tremendous value to scientific data collection. As the project continues, we hope to further expand our knowledge on the UK’s soil invertebrate communities with the help of schools across the country and link this knowledge to bird populations.

Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds is a unique review of current understanding of the relationships between forest birds and their changing environments. Large ecological changes are being driven by forest management, climate change, introduced pests and pathogens, abiotic disturbances, and overbrowsing. Many forest bird species have suffered population declines, with the situation being particularly severe for birds dependent on attributes such as dead wood, old trees and structurally complex forests. With a focus on the non-tropical parts of the northern hemisphere, the text addresses the fundamental evolutionary and ecological aspects of forest birds using original data analyses and synthesising reviews. The characteristics of bird assemblages and their habitats in different European forest types are explored, together with the macroecological patterns of bird diversity and conservation issues. Ecology and Conservation of Forest Birds provides a valuable reference for ecologists, ornithologists, conservation professionals, forest industry employees, and those interested in birds and nature.

Since 1986, seabird populations in the UK and Ireland have been monitored through the Seabird Monitoring Programme coordinated on behalf of partnership organisations by JNCC. Sample data on breeding abundance and breeding success of seabirds are collected from a large network of sites, both regionally and nationally, to enable species’ conservation status to be assessed. To examine trends at individual colonies, at country level and across the whole UK, it is essential that individual sites can be monitored consistently for many years. Data on breeding abundance – the number of breeding pairs or individuals – provide a medium to long term measure of how populations are faring. Data on breeding success/productivity – the number of chicks fledged per breeding pair – are regarded as short term or more immediate measure of population status. Studies at four key sites (Isle of May, Canna, Fair Isle and Skomer) provide information on adult survival, diet, phenology used to help to diagnose the changes in abundance. Additional information on survival rates at other sites is collected through the BTO’s Retrapping for Adult Survival (RAS) scheme (Horswill et al. 2016), although there are no current RAS sites in Northern Ireland. The SMP generates annual indices of abundance and breeding success from these data which are expressed as a percentage of the population recorded at sites in 1986 when standardised monitoring began (JNCC 2016). Where possible trends are given at the scale of the UK or country level, but where coverage is only possible at individual sites, the indices are shown at the site level. The SMP is a vital programme for monitoring seabird population trends between the full national censuses.

Number of coastal Herring Gull populations have reduced markedly in recent years. The breeding gull colony of the South Walney and Piel Channel Flats Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), within the Morecambe Bay and Duddon Estuary potential Special Protection Area (pSPA), is of national and intermational importance for its number of Herring Gull Larus argentatus and Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus.

This annex to BTO Research Report 694 (Clewley et al. 2016) presents a summary update for 2017 on the results of a GPS tracking study of Lesser Black-backed Gulls Larus fuscus breeding in the Bowland Fells Special Protection Area (SPA).

Over the past 50 years there has been widespread improvement in water quality in many freshwater and coastal systems driven by domestic and European legislation, most recently the EU Water Framework Directive (EC Directive 2000/60/EC), but also including the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive (EC Directive 91/271/EEC) and Bathing Water Directive (EC Directive 76/160/EEC).