Waterbirdnews Issue 40 (Autumn 2024)

The newsletter of the Wetland Bird Survey and the Goose & Swan Monitoring Programme.

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New insights into the migration and wintering areas of Scottish-breeding Arctic Skuas

Arctic Skuas breed in dwindling numbers on Scotland’s northern coasts and islands.

The status of the UK’s breeding seabirds: an addendum to the fifth Birds of Conservation Concern in the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man and second IUCN Red List assessment of extinction risk for Great Britain

The conservation status of breeding seabirds is updated in this paper, with an additional five (Leach’s Storm-petrel, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Arctic Tern and Great Skua) joining the B

Diversity in Irish and British avifauna assemblages: What can variation in diversity profiles reveal about the forces that drive assemblage composition and structure?

Treating gaps and biases in biodiversity data as a missing data problem

However, such data do need to be treated carefully if they are to yield reliable evidence. One problem that frequently occurs is that of gaps in coverage caused by, for example, missing visits.

How effective has the management of Cockle and Mussel fisheries on The Wash estuary been in ensuring that there is sufficient food for birds?

Does the management of shell fisheries leave food for the birds?

During the 1980s, high fishing mortality of the Mussel stocks led to an almost complete disappearance of Mussel beds in The Wash, with the Mussel fishery closing in 1994.

The value of seabird foraging ranges as a tool to investigate the impact of offshore wind farms

The UK’s seabirds have experienced substantial population declines in recent years, thanks to many pressures including overfishing, climate change, severe weather and most recently,

Supplementary bird feeding as an overlooked contribution to local phosphorus cycles.

Does feeding birds alter the phosphorus cycle

The seeds, grains and nuts that make up the supplementary food provided to birds at feeding stations are typically imported to the sites where they are used, and may have been grown many hundreds o

Population and distribution change of Eurasian Woodcocks Scolopax rusticola breeding in the UK: results from the 2023 ‘Breeding Woodcock Survey’

Breeding Woodcocks are difficult to monitor through traditional multi-species surveys because of their nocturnal behaviour and cryptic plumage.

Active European warzone impacts raptor migration

Collaborative research involving BTO has examined the effects of the conflict in Ukraine on the migration of the endangered Greater Spotted Eagle.

The Breeding Bird Survey 2023

The 2023 BBS report celebrates the survey’s 30th anniversary, and the commitment and dedication of nearly 9,000 volunteers who have contributed since 1994.

Spatial variation in spring arrival patterns of Afro-Palearctic bird migration across Europe

This study looked at the variation across space in spring arrival time to Europe for 30 species of birds which winter in Africa.

Not in the countryside please! Investigating UK residents’ perceptions of an introduced species, the ring-necked parakeet (Psittacula krameri)

This work, carried out in collaboration with Imperial College London, the University of Exeter and the University of Brighton, revealed that 90.2% of the people surveyed were aware of Ring-necked P

A family of process-based models to simulate landscape use by multiple taxa

Promoting landscapes that are better for wildlife

One way to determine where habitat restoration might most usefully occur is to use computer models to predict how changing landscapes in particular areas might best benefit different wildlife group

Natural body size variation in seabirds provides a fundamental challenge for flight height determination by single-camera photgrammetry. A comment on Humphries et al. 2023

Uncertainty in seabird body size and its implications for studying flight height

Waterbirds in the UK 2022/23

Read the latest results of the annual Wetland Bird Survey Report and the Goose and Swan Monitoring Programme surveys.

Use of dwarf shrubland–grassland mosaics by a nomadic predatory bird, the Short-eared Owl Asio flammeus

Identifying habitat needs for Short-eared Owls

A substantial proportion of Britain’s Short-eared Owl population breeds on managed moorland, where these avian predators specialise on small mammal prey.

Seabird population and demographic monitoring in the UK: a review and recommendations for future sampling

Review of the Seabird Monitoring Programme highlights new opportunities

Current annual trend information delivered by the Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) is imprecise, absent, or geographically limited for several UK breeding seabird species.

Northern Ireland Seabird Report 2023

The benefits of protected areas for bird population trends may depend on their condition

BTO-led research highlights the importance of the quality of protected areas in their effectiveness.