Wetland Bird Survey still going strong after 70 years

PUBLISHED: 15:16 21 May 2018 | UPDATED: 15:16 21 May 2018

Ross Bentley

Jointly funded by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), RSPB and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), in association with WWT, the latest WeBS report, Waterbirds in the UK 2016/17, released last week, reports on 110 waterbird populations and underlines the importance of the UK for millions of migratory waterbirds which spend the winter here or pass through on their way to their breeding grounds in the north and east.

Beginning as the National Wildfowl Counts in the winter of 1947/48, in response to apparent declines in the numbers of ducks and geese, 70 years later the scheme has expanded to include all wintering waterbirds, counted every month by 3,000 volunteers around the UK.

Read more  

Wetland Bird Survey reveals wading birds in decline – in pictures

Ringed plovers, oystercatchers and redshanks among species overwintering on UK estuaries to suffer a big drop in numbers 

Photos

Record numbers of birds used Britain’s wetlands during severe 2010/11 winter

Waterbirds in England respond to cold winter 

October 2012. Latest counts collected by Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) volunteers show the internationally important numbers of wildfowl and waders that use English wetlands in winter.

Severe winter of 2010/11
The severe conditions experienced in the 2010/11 winter, described in the latest Waterbirds in the UK report, show that wetlands in the UK can be especially important during harsh winters. During such winters, sites both inland and on the coast act as a refuge for birds forced out of frozen continental Europe. 

Top 5 sites contained 1.2 million waterfowl and waders
At the five most important sites (The Wash, Ribble Estuary, Morecambe Bay, North Norfolk Coast, and Thames Estuary), WeBS volunteers counted 1.2 million wildfowl and waders. These numbers indicate how important it is that these coastal areas and others receive suitable protection and that the important waterbird communities continue to be monitored effectively.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/winter-wetlands.html