WeBS News

WeBS Annual Report status

The 2007/08 WeBS Annual Report is complete and has been sent to counters. Download it here.

We are now in the process of producing the 2008/09 WeBS Annual Report, if you have not yet submitted your 2008/09 data please contact the WeBS Office immediately or your data may not be included!

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...

Waterbird research news

When not involved directly in WeBS, the WeBS and waterbird research team continues to undertake a diverse research programme.

Recent Projects:

Migrant birds in hot water - Research conducted by the BTO waterbird research team has shown that climate change is a major threat to migratory waterbirds. Of 235 species of migratory waterbird occurring in Europe and Africa, all except one are experiencing some threat from climate change, and nine species face severe threats that could cause extinction. A series of BTO reports, launched in September 2008 in Madagascar at the 4th Meeting of the Parties of the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement, highlights the need for international co-operation when it comes to helping migratory species cope with climate change and other environmental problems. To find out more, click here.

Offshore windfarms - More and more windfarms are being built in marine habitats, often in areas favoured waterbirds and seabirds. As a result, the quality of ornithological mpact assessments is often in the spot-light. The waterbird and seabird research team, has been finding ways in which impact assessments could be improved. To find out more, click here.

Recent WeBS publications

The new WeBS News is available to download. Access this and past publications here.

Recent updates to the WeBS website

A search facility and contact information for all local organisers is available here. Details of which waterbodies are covered by WeBS, including maps showing site boundaries are available here. The WeBS Alerts Report is due for revamp, but at the request of the WeBS partnership, will not be updated with new data every year, but will instead be updated every three years. This is to ensure that site managers are not chasing moving targets when responding to Alerts. We continue to encourage users to enter their counts online. To access the WeBS online system, click here.

Other recent news

Bird Atlas:

Fieldwork for theBird Atlas 2007-11 is still underway. WeBS counters can contribute to this by submitting Roving Records. To find out more, click here.

News Archives

Click here to access the News archives