WeBS Newsletter

Recent news

Updated 18/08/2010

Hot off the press!

The new WeBS annual report, Waterbirds In the UK: 2008/09, will be released this weekend at the Rutland Bird Fair, 20th - 22nd August. If you are visiting the fair please drop by the WeBS stand in Marquee 1 to collect your copy. If you are not able to attend the fair this weekend then your copy should be winging its way to you in the next few weeks. If you have not received your copy by the end of September 2010 then please get in touch.

To download this and previous reports, please visit the downloads page.

Recent Waterbird News

June and July tend to see a slight lull in WeBS activity, when both waterbirds and their counters are focused on summer activities. However, thoughts are now turning to autumn when both wildfowl and waders will be on the move.

The next WeBS Core Count priority date is 15 August 2010 and by then, wader passage in particular will be well underway. The favoured estuaries and foreshores will have large aggregations of familiar waders such as Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew and Sanderling, while numbers of some scarcer species such as Spotted Redshank and Greenshank tend to peak during the month. At inland wetlands, Green, Common, and maybe even Wood Sandpipers, will be widespread, and many sites, particularly reservoirs, are likely to have relatively low water levels and so may attract more than normal. No doubt there will be one or two major surprises too. A Sharp-tailed Sandpiper perhaps? And, having been in Essex, Gloucestershire and Kent in July, where will the White-tailed Plover's journey take it to in August...

Make Your Day Out Count

Even whilst you are away from your WeBS patch you can still help us gain a better knowledge of waterbirds using small sites. We have launched a new leaflet aimed at encouraging casual one-off counts of small, out of the way sites. We would like to distribute them to B&Bs and tourist information offices where bird watchers, walkers and day-trippers may pick them up. If you know of a suitable place where they could be distributed, please get in touch.

Download a copy of the leaflet here

Other news:

To access more recent news, including updates on the WeBS Annual Report, information on recent waterbird movements and waterbird research news, click here

To access the news archives, click here

About WeBS

The Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) is the scheme that monitors non-breeding waterbirds in the UK, which aims to provide the principal data for the conservation of their populations and wetland habitats. The data collected are used to assess the size of waterbird populations, determine trends in numbers and distribution, and assess the importance of individual sites for waterbirds, in line with the requirements of international conservation Conventions and Directives.

Continuing a tradition begun in 1947, around 3,000 volunteer counters participate in synchronised monthly counts at wetlands of all habitat types, mainly during the winter period. WeBS is a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (the latter on behalf of Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Countryside Council for Wales and the Environment and Heritage Service for Northern Ireland) in association with the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.

To find out more, click here

Wetlands and Waterbirds

The UK hosts internationally important numbers of over-wintering waterbirds, attracted here by relatively mild winters and the large tidal amplitudes, which ensure extensive areas of inter-tidal mudflat. One of the principal aims of WeBS is to provide data to facilitate their conservation.

To find out more about UK waterbirds, including status and trends, click here.

To find out WeBS coverage of UK wetlands, click here.

To find out more about wetlands, including the status of designated sites, click here.

Waterbird Research

WeBS Data have been used to undertake a large range of research projects and impact-related work. Some recent examples include examining the impacts of climate change and water quality on waders, determining declines and causes of decline on waterbirds on the UK's protected areas and assessing the impacts of habitat loss and disturbance on waterbirds.

To find out more about waterbird related research undertaken by the BTO, click here.