This is the fourth edition of the Northern Ireland Seabird Report, covering 2016. This report is the published outcome of the work of the BTO NI Seabird Coordinator, and the activities of the evolving Northern Ireland Seabird Network of volunteers and organisations, such as National Trust, Ulster Wildlife and the RSPB, that have provided data for 2016 and previous years. This 2016 report on breeding seabirds in Northern Ireland is like the preceding reports. We have kept the detail from previous years, even where data have changed little since our last report. It is important that this report represents a summary of current species knowledge, and that reference to other, earlier, reports is not necessary. In this approach we are taking a similar stance to JNCC and their online Seabird Monitoring Programme (SMP) report and this is doubtless the best way to present such a report. As in previous years several articles have been submitted for inclusion in the report. These articles provide further detail on the monitoring in Northern Ireland, and highlight some of the exciting seabird research being undertaken. We are very grateful to the authors for giving their time to produce these articles. We would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this report and, additionally, encourage more people to join the Seabird Network. Naturally, a summary such as this does not report all data but all records collected are of real value in understanding our local seabirds. The report is only as robust as the data we are aware of, so if you have seabird population data, either recent or historic, then please share it with us, and JNCC, for the benefit of seabirds in Northern Ireland.

Using the BTO’s ring-recovery database we have been able to analyse dispersal movements, with the aim of providing insight into Barn Owl movements in the UK. The results of this work suggest that new, high-quality habitat aimed at mitigating negative effects of HS2 on Barn Owls should be located between 3 km and 15 km away from the railway route, depending on the importance placed on minimising juvenile, as opposed to adult, mortality.

This report explores means by which a standardised trend analysis of data from the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) can aid rapid assessment of condition for non-breeding waterbird SPAs in England. For supporting material please contact Natural England.

The BirdTrends 2020 report is a one-stop shop for authoritative information about the population status of the common breeding birds of the wider UK countryside. The report is based on data gathered by the many thousands of volunteers who contribute to BTO-led surveys.

The State of Nature report is an assessment of how nature is doing across the UK. As well as an overarching assessment of UK flora and fauna, there are separate reports for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to look at each country in more depth. The reports pool data and expertise from 53 nature conservation and research organisations, a partnership unparalleled in UK conservation. The BTO is proud to be a founding member of the State of Nature Partnership and our long-term volunteer-based monitoring schemes are key to such assessments. It is extremely important that well-structured monitoring to track changes in biodiversity continues and that good evidence is collected to identify the causes of change. Publicising the results and engagement with the public as well as policy-makers is essential to the success of any project based on citizen science. Report is available in six different versions. The main report covers the whole UK, with the other reports focussing on England, Scotland, Wales (in both English and Welsh) and Northern Ireland (to be published shortly). The report offers: Key findings A comparison of the most important drivers of change Summaries by habitat Case studies Emerging themes for conservation action An explanation of the methodologies used to produce the report

This report addresses the question of how responses by woodland managers to the dieback of ash (Fraxineus excelsior) caused by the fungal pathogen Hymenoscyphus fraxineus coud alter the opportunities for woodland wildlife in Britian. Introduction, The Geographical and Ecological Distribution of Ash, The Disease: Its Spread and Symptons, Two East Anglian Case Studies, Management Responses to Ash Dieback, Resources and Key Structures Potentially Affected by Management Responses, Potential Resource Availability Under Different Management Scenarios, Interactions of Ash Dieback with Deer, Conclusions, Acknowlegements, References