UK Wading Birds Struggling

Recent research has shown declines in some of Britain’s most iconic wading birds.

The Wetland Bird Survey has shown that the 8 most abundant species to overwinter on UK estuaries have suffered significant and consistent population reductions over the last 10 years. The data was collected by thousands of volunteers at over 2000 wetland sites across the UK. The survey is coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) in partnership with the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT).

Conservationists believe collaborative research on an international scale is important to determine the factors which are responsible. Potential causes include climate change forcing the birds to overwinter in areas outside the UK. There may also be site-specific issues which will need to be examined especially at the larger sites such as the Wash, Morecambe Bay, and Thames Estuary.

Ringed plovers in both overwintering and breeding populations have declined by 39% in the last 10 years. Redshank have fallen by 26% and dunlin by 23%, curlew by 17% and oystercatchers by 15%. Knot have dropped by 7%, bar-tailed godwit by 10%, and grey plover by 21%.

These figures are quite alarming especially as many of the declines have been consistent for 10-20 years. There are probably a number of factors influencing the decline; the birds breed in the Arctic and then spend the winter further south in an area that stretches from north-west Europe down into Africa. It could be that the birds are simply overwintering outside of the UK and the whole population may not be in decline. The Arctic is experiencing rapid warming as a result of climate change which could mean that fewer young birds are being reared successfully. However, more information is needed before any conclusions can be made.

Sources: BTO website July 2014, Guardian online July 2014