Woodcock, along with many other woodland bird populations, have been in long-term decline. Habitat change has been indicated as a possible cause for some species, but evidence is sparse for others, including Woodcock, due to an incomplete knowledge of their habitat requirements, which we can now examine. National BTO/GWCT Woodcock surveys undertaken in 2003 and 2013 provided data from 807 and 823 randomly selected 1 km squares, respectively. Woodcock counts were compared with a range of landscape-scale habitat variables as well as local habitat measures recorded by surveyors, using generalised linear mixed models. Habitat variables were measured at a variety of spatial scales using ring buffers, however high correlation between scales limits interpretation. The results show that, at large landscape scales, breeding Woodcock abundance was correlated with total woodland area and woodland type. Woodcock were more abundant in woods containing a more heterogeneous mix of woodland habitat types and in woods further from urban areas. On a smaller spatial scale, Woodcock were less likely to be found at sites dominated by Beech and more likely to occur in woods containing Birch. The Woodcock’s association with large, heterogeneous woods and the apparent attractiveness of certain woodland types present the most relevant topics for future research into the role of habitat change in long-term declines.

Although we have lost over three-quarters of the UK Cuckoo population, we are unsure of the causes of this decline. Alongside this, the strong divide in northern and southern populations of Cuckoo and their local trends are cause to question why the local differences arise. This study, led by PhD student Chloe Denerley and using BTO's BBS data, used local data from Devon in comparison against data on Cuckoos and their hosts, habitats, and prey items. In Devon, Cuckoos were more likely to be found in areas with semi-natural habitat and more Meadow Pipits (but fewer Dunnocks) and with a higher number of moth species, which are predated by Cuckoos in late summer. Across the UK, Cuckoos have become more associated with upland heath with Meadow Pipits, and with wetland habitats with Reed Warblers, and the distribution of Cuckoos shifting from south to north within the UK. The abundance of moth species preyed upon by Cuckoos has declined four times faster than that of other moths. Overall, the results suggest that Cuckoos have contracted out of the farmed countryside and into heathlands and the uplands. Coordinated monitoring of moth, host and Cuckoo numbers across such projects could tell us much about the long-term prospects for reversing Cuckoo population decline in the UK

Public data archiving (PDA), where data are made freely available on demand through recognised data repositories, is increasingly being required by funders and journals to promote ‘open data’. However, this rapidly developing area brings with it some potential risks, particularly to the maintenance and operation of long-term citizen science monitoring schemes. What are the solutions?

A major task for decision makers is deciding how to consider the monetary, cultural and conservation values of biodiversity. Not all species contribute to any one value to the same degree, and there is a need to develop methods to better understand the contributions made by individual species, and their wider communities, to a suite of biodiversity values. This paper examines an approach for doing this, using farmland birds as an example. The valuing of biodiversity for human benefit has become an important principle for those involved in making strategic decisions about the management of natural resources. For example, the economic contribution made to agriculture by pollinating insects has been recognised as delivering an ecosystem service; these pollinating insects can be considered as having an economic or utilitarian value. Various international initiatives have acknowledged the importance of valuing biodiversity in different ways, from the utilitarian value just mentioned through to cultural value and conservational value. There is, however, a need to understand just what ‘valuing’ biodiversity or species really means, and to determine which species within a community contribute to which values and to what degree. Few studies have attempted to score species objectively across the different ways of valuing nature and biodiversity, so this paper – which looks at farmland birds – provides some valuable insight. Gavin Siriwardena and colleagues looked at 38 farmland bird species and assessed their relative contribution to a number of biodiversity values, reflecting the amount of economically important weed seeds they took in their diet (utilitarian value), their occurrence in poetry (cultural value) and their relative rarity and population change (conservational value). The results of this work indicate that looking through the lens of just a single biodiversity value would underestimate the farmland bird community’s contribution more generally. By being able to quantify the contributions of individual species it becomes possible to determine the number and identity of those species contributing to specific services and values, and to reveal potential synergies or trade-offs between multiple values. The study found little evidence that species prominent in providing one value also contribute strongly to others, something that underlines the need to examine multiple values rather than just one when assessing biodiversity benefit. Where different biodiversity values can be assessed in this way, and made more transparent, it should deliver a more complete picture of the diverse ways in which biodiversity can be valued, and make for better informed decision making.

We present the results of a process to attempt to identify 100 questions that, if answered, would make a substantial difference to terrestrial and marine landscape restoration in Europe. Representatives from a wide range of European governmental and non-governmental conservation organisations, universities, independent ecologists and land managers compiled 677 questions relating to all aspects of European landscape restoration for nature and people. The questions were shortlisted by an email vote, followed by a two-day workshop, to produce the final list of 100 questions. Many of the final questions evolved through a process of modification and combination as the workshop progressed. The questions are divided into eight sections: conservation of biodiversity; connectivity, migration and translocations; delivering and evaluating restoration; natural processes; ecosystem services; social and cultural aspects of restoration; policy and governance; and economics. We anticipate that these questions will help identify new directions for researchers and policy-makers and assist funders and programme managers in allocating funds and planning projects, resulting in improved understanding and implementation of landscape-scale ecological restoration in Europe.

The benefit of the information accrued when capturing wild animals for study needs to outweigh the potential risk to individuals that are caught. New BTO research, just published, assesses the potential effects of capturing wild birds. Wild birds have been marked with metal rings as part of scientific studies throughout the world for over a century. The data generated by these studies have provided much needed information on movements, demographic processes and individual life histories, as well as helping to guide conservation actions. Any effect of capturing wild birds on their individual welfare, or that of their wider populations, is an important ethical consideration; it also has significant implications for the integrity of the data collected, as biases may be introduced if capture and handling bring about changes in behaviour or survival. Ultimately, the benefit of the information accrued when capturing wild animals for study needs to outweigh the potential risk to individuals that are caught. The potential effect of fittings rings or other devices to birds has been assessed previously, through a series of reviews and studies. The direct effects of the capture methods themselves have received less attention, however, with few published estimates of capture-related injury or mortality. A new study, examining 1.5 million recapture records of 166 passerine species, has investigated this issue for those birds caught using mist-nets by individuals operating under the British and Irish Ringing Scheme. The training process is both structured and intensive, with volunteers individually mentored and then formally appraised before they are able to operate unaccompanied, a process that typically takes at least a couple of years and involves handling a significant number of birds. Mist-netting is considered to be safe and effective when carried out by experienced individuals trained in this way, and following published guidelines; despite this there are occasional incidents of capture-related mortality or injury. Defining any threshold of ‘acceptable’ mortality in the context of research into wild bird populations is a difficult and sensitive issue but it is important that we understand the level of risk, and its implications for welfare and data quality, at the level of both the individual and the wider species population. This study quantified the reported mortality rate among common passerines recaptured using mist-nets, using data submitted to the BTO. Factors which may influence the likelihood of mortality were also investigated, facilitating improved guidance for those operating mist-nets to capture wild birds. Overall mortality rates were low – the average mortality rate was 0.0011 – with most fatalities reported to have occurred before individuals had been extracted from the nets. Juvenile birds appeared to be at greater risk than adults, and the incidence of predation – the single largest identified cause of mortality, accounting for over 70% of deaths – was seasonal, with increased risk during the winter. Mortality rates, although very low, varied between species; the apparent risk was greatest for Bullfinch and Chiffchaff. Erica Spotswood and colleagues carried out an assessment of mortalities associated with mist-netting using data from several North American stations, reporting a slightly higher mortality estimate (0.0029) than that found here. Whilst it is important to understand and to minimise the scale of any effects on capture-related mortality or injury, it is unlikely that a zero mortality rate will ever be possible when trapping and handling wild animals for scientific purposes. Several previous studies have highlighted the importance of appropriate training, something that is central to the British and Irish Ringing Scheme where highly-valued ringing trainers help to maintain the highest possible standards. The study also makes a number of recommendations; some of these will help to refine guidelines for those trapping and handling wild birds, while others suggest additional opportunities to secure information that could be used to better understand risk factors and associated mortality. Clewley, G.D., Robinson, R.A. & Clark, J.A. (2018). Estimating mortality rates among passerines caught for ringing with mist-nets using data from previously-ringed birds. Ecology & Evolution.