Following the establishment of a tree-nesting colony of Great Cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo at Abberton Reservoir, Essex, in 1981, the inland breeding population in England has increased considerably. Successful breeding has now occurred at 89 inland sites and, while Cormorants have been actively dissuaded from breeding at a number of these, the inland population in England reached about 2,362 breeding pairs at 48 sites in 2012. Increasing numbers of Cormorants on inland waters in England have intensified conflict between Cormorants and fisheries. This resulted in an increase in the number of Cormorants that could be killed under licence to 3,000 per year during the winters of 2004/05 and 2005/06, after which licences for up to 2,000 birds per year have been issued.There is some evidence that the inland breeding population is now stabilising, mainly as a result of declines at some of the older colonies established in the 1980s and early 1990s. New inland colonies continue to be established, however, most notably through expansion of their range into the southwest

The BTO is involved in new research led the University of East Anglia, showing that young birds are the trend-setters when it comes to migration. It had generally been believed that the flexibility of individuals to respond to warmer springs lies behind the phenomenon of advancing migration. In this paper, focusing on the changing arrival dates of Black-tailed Godwits in Iceland, the authors show that individual, colour-ringed birds are not changing their schedules over time. Instead, it is the earlier spring migration of birds hatched in more recent years that lies behind the observed pattern of advancing arrival for the species. The research team has been following the same colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits for up to twenty years, with the help of over 2000 observers. Most birds hatched in the 1990s arrived in Iceland in May but those hatched in recent years are tending to arrive in April. Climate change is likely to be driving this change because godwits nest earlier in warmer years, and birds that hatch earlier are likely to have more time to gain the body condition needed for migration and find good places to spend the winter, which can help them to return early to Iceland when they come back to breed. Read the abstract Full citation: Gill, J.A., Alves, J.A., Sutherland, W.J., Appleton, G.F., Potts, P.M. & Gunnarsson, T.G. 2013. Why is timing of bird migration advancing when individuals are not? Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 281, 20132161. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2013.2161

Population estimates of birds have a wide range of practical conservation uses, as well as being of enduring interest to many birdwatchers. Following previous reports by the Avian Population Estimates Panel (APEP), in 1997 and 2006, we present the third collation of population estimates of birds in Great Britain and the United Kingdom. This report follows previous reports by the Avian Population Estimates Panel (APEP), in 1997 and 2006. There are now thought to be about 84 million breeding pairs of birds in the UK. The ten commonest species contribute 57% of this total, with Wren Troglodytes troglodytes alone providing one in ten of our breeding birds. In all, 23 species exceed one million breeding pairs. The individual population estimates come from a wide variety of sources, many from extrapolation of previous estimates by recognised trend measures, others from new surveys and novel analytical approaches developed since the last report. Despite the exceptional level of detail available for some species, many gaps in our knowledge remain. Recommendations are made to allow a continuing improvement in our understanding of the numbers of birds in GB and the UK. There are many opportunities for volunteer and amateur birdwatchers to make a significant contribution.