Every year around 12.5 million waterbirds spend the winter months in the UK, many coming here from as far away as Greenland and Siberia and at least one individual has been making the trip for 40 years.
2nd February 2012 is World Wetlands Day, on which the importance of the global network of waterways and wetlands is celebrated. According to the latest Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) report, compiled by the BTO on behalf of RSPB, JNCC and in association with WWT, the UK has 211 wetland sites that hold internationally important numbers of waterbirds. Two of the most important of these are The Wash, which supports almost 400,000 waterbirds each winter, and the Ribble Estuary, where almost a quarter of a million birds can be found. Some of the birds that come to the UK’s wetlands for a winter holiday have been doing so for many years. The longevity records for some of them make for interesting reading. An Oystercatcher ringed on The Wash was recaught in almost exactly the same place 40 years, one month and two days later, and a Greenshank ringed at Farlington Marshes, in Hampshire, was recaught at the same site 16 years and three days after it was first released, both becoming the oldest of their kind to be recorded in the UK. For more information, please visit http://blx1.bto.org/ring/countyrec/results2010/longevity.htm
Chas Holt, WeBS Core Count Organiser at the BTO, commented: ‘Around 3,000 volunteers take part in monthly counts at wetlands across the country, providing us with the numbers that prove just how important the UK is for wintering waterbirds and ensuring that the sites they use are afforded protection for the future.
He added: ‘However, it is starting to look like some of our wintering waterbirds may be in trouble. Numbers of many species are showing distinct declines. Whilst for some species (such as the European White-fronted Goose) this may be due to increased numbers wintering on the continent, for others it is looking like there may be declines across their range internationally. UK declines in ducks such as the Pochard, Velvet Scoter and Red-breasted Merganser are mirrored elsewhere across northern Europe, suggesting potentially serious changes in their environment. Whether this is due to conditions on the Arctic breeding grounds, along their migration flyways, or in their winter quarters, is something that requires urgent investigation.’
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