Breeding waders are among the most threatened of European bird species and the focus of a suite of conservation interventions, such as the improvement of grassland nesting habitats, and the protection of nests and chicks from predators and destruction by agricultural activities. Headstarting is a relatively novel technique in breeding wader conservation, where eggs are removed from the wild and reared in carefully controlled environments. It aims to bypass the threats individuals encounter during vulnerable early life stages in the wild. Headstarting differs from more traditional forms of captive rearing, in that individuals only remain in captivity for a small part of their life cycle (generally egg and hatchling stages) and are released once at a less vulnerable stage to provide a quick, artificial boost to the breeding productivity of a wild population.

This study identifies a new fundamental rule governing how ecosystems are assembled, revealing how and why biomass increases with the number of species, whether this be the mass of fish on a coral reef, earthworms in the soil or birds in the sky.

In the winter of 2020/21, during one of the worst outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry, it could not be foreseen that the deaths of small numbers of wild birds in north-west Europe from the virus H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b would be the precursor to the worst HPAI-related mortality recorded in wild birds.

GPS tracking of young Goshawks in lowland England reveals the movements and habitat use of this species, how these characteristics differ between the sexes, and how they change over the birds’ early lives. The UK Goshawk population is recovering from near extinction due to persecution in the early 20th century. Today, there are thought to be around 1,200 breeding pairs across the country, distributed patchily and at a low density. The population is likely below carrying capacity given the numbers present in neighbouring European countries, where the species is found in a variety of habitats including in cities. In the UK, the Goshawk is largely confined to forest habitats, but since the population is predicted to rise, this could change. An understanding of the movements and habitat requirements of this species could therefore help to understand how the species distribution might change in future. In this study, 29 GPS-GSM tags were fitted to Goshawk chicks at 22 nests in Breckland (Norfolk and Suffolk) and Gloucestershire. These solar powered tracking devices downloaded their data via the mobile phone network, revealing the young birds’ movements once they fledged and started to become independent. The results showed that young birds in their first winter settled on the periphery of their parents’ breeding habitat, and occupied a small range of approximately 5 km in diameter. These home ranges tended to be associated with mixed, open habitats by forest edges with farmland, or on farmland entirely. Male birds especially favoured farmland habitats. These habitat differences between the sexes might be determined by the prey types that smaller male birds can take, with suitable prey more available on farmland. As the young Goshawks matured, their habitats shifted towards the denser forests associated with their parents. The relatively short dispersal distances covered by young birds in this study indicates that a range expansion out of the species’ forest strongholds might take some time. However, young birds’ ability to take advantage of non-forest habitats does suggest that expansion is highly probable, especially if combined with a continued reduction in persecution and access to key prey.