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The Danish Wadden Sea As Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds

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The Danish Wadden Sea As Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds The Danish Wadden Sea as Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds DOF rapport 1 1 DOF rapport 1 Colophone Title: The Danish Wadden Sea as Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds Author: Lars Maltha Rasmussen Photos: Lars Maltha Rasmussen, John Larsen and Poul Reib Front page photo: Pied Avocets. Jens Christian Kjærgård Layout: Tine Stampe Printed by: SvendborgTryk Publisher: BirdLife Denmark. Dansk Ornitologisk Forening URL: www.dof.dk/publikationer Published: July 2008 Referees: John Frikke, Michael Borch Grell, Thomas Vikstrøm. English rewriting: Joy Klein Financial support: Vogelbescherming Netherlands, Carlsen-Langes Legatstiftelse. Should be cited as: Rasmussen, L. M. 2007: The Danish Wadden Sea as Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds. Dansk Ornitologisk Forening, BirdLife Denmark. (Med dansk resumé: Det danske vadehav som yngleområde og knudepunkt for fugle). ISBN nr. 87-90310-51-9 Læs mere på www.dof.dk Dansk Ornitologisk Forening · Vesterbrogade 138-140 1620 København V · tlf. 33 28 38 00 · [email protected] The Danish Wadden Sea as Breeding Ground and Crossroad for Birds DOF rapport 1 July 2008 3 Index 1. Summary ..................................................................7 Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) ......................40 Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra) .............................. 41 2. Dansk Resumé ..........................................................9 Other diving ducks ...........................................................42 Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) ............................43 3. Introduction ........................................................... 11 Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) ..........................43 Objective and methodology ..........................................12 Hen Harrier (Circus cyaneus) ........................................44 Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus).............................44 4. The Danish Wadden Sea ........................................13 Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) ......44 Danish Wadden Sea landscapes ..................................13 Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) .........................44 Conservation of key habitats ........................................13 Great Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) ..............45 National and international regulations .....................14 Kentish Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) .................46 The Trilateral Wadden Sea Plan ...................................17 Eurasian Golden Plover (Pluvialis apricaria) .............46 Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) ................................47 5. Management and threats ......................................19 Northern Lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) .......................47 Primary production ..........................................................19 Red Knot (Calidris canutus)...........................................47 Disturbances from recreational activites ..................19 Sanderling (Calidris alba) ...............................................48 Disturbance from military training activities ..........20 Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) ......................48 Hunting ...............................................................................20 Dunlin (Calidris alpina) ...................................................48 Commercial use of biological resources ....................24 Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) .........................49 Area management ...........................................................28 Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica) .......................50 Wind energy production and power lines .................30 Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) .................................50 Predation ............................................................................ 31 Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata) ........................50 Alien invasive species (AIS) ...........................................32 Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) ..........................50 Climate change .................................................................33 Common Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus) ...... 51 Common Gull (Larus canus) ..........................................52 6. Ranking conservation issues Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) ....................52 for the Danish Wadden Sea .....................................34 Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) ...................................52 Gull-billed Tern (Gelochelidon nilotica) .....................53 7. Species accounts ....................................................35 Sandwich Tern (Sterna sandwicensis) ........................54 Divers and Grebes (Gavia spp. & Podiceps spp.) .......35 Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) ....................................55 Great Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) ..................35 Arctic Tern (Sterna paradisaea) ...................................55 Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia) ..................36 Little Tern (Sterna albifrons) .........................................55 Dark-bellied Brent Goose (Branta bernicla bernicla) 36 Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) ........................................56 Light-bellied Brent Goose (Branta bernicla hrota) .....37 Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) ...............................56 Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) ..............................38 Common Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) ........................39 9. References and Webpages .....................................57 Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) ...............................39 4 Section of a flock of Golden Plovers counting 20,000 individuals in total on Rømø Nørreland in april during the spring migration. Photo: Lars Maltha Rasmussen. 55 Figure 1: Topographic map showing the Danish Wadden Sea Source: Kort – og Matrikelstyrelsen 66 1. Summary Trilateral efforts carried out since 1991 in monitor- Sea area. There is a need to create more hunting-free ing birds and a number of additional parameters in the areas, especially in polders. Wadden Sea have provided important information on • The impact on natural ecosystems and the distur- trends and the overall importance of the area for birds. bance of internationally important concentrations of About half of the 34 monitored migratory bird popula- sea ducks caused by shrimp fishery in the outer parts tions in the international Wadden Sea have decreased of the Danish Wadden Sea need to be thoroughly significantly in number since 1991. In addition, some studied, and fishery management should respect the of the breeding birds for which the Wadden Sea is precautionary principle. internationally important have declined in numbers due • Numbers of breeding birds and especially colony-breed- to changes in the Wadden Sea environment. Present ing species are under extreme pressure from increasing knowledge based on research indicates that these nega- numbers of predators. All parts of the Danish Wadden tive trends are probably mainly the result of developments Sea including most islands are affected, since dams and within the Wadden Sea, rather than elsewhere along the dikes provide easy access for mammalian predators. The flyway. negative effect on the reproduction of breeding birds Scientific studies on the entire Wadden Sea ecosystem caused by predation, especially by Red Foxes, should be as well as on the breeding and migratory bird populations reduced. that depend on this unique ecosystem indicate a multitude • Disturbance of breeding Kentish Plover and Little of negative impacts on nature caused by anthropogenic Tern by intense tourism is still an important issue. activities: disturbance, habitat change, coastal protection, Measures to protect breeding birds on Rømø have farming activity, pollution, global warming, over-fishing, not been adapted to habitat changes. hunting etc. Considering the significant conservation value of the Wadden Sea, the many threats call for im- Birds are good indicators of changes in the Wadden Sea mediate action. When aiming at a better protection of the ecosystem, because they are numerous and relatively easy Wadden Sea as a shared ecosystem the following Danish to monitor. Nevertheless, threats to bird populations are of- issues should have high priority: ten recognized too late to take the necessary action, since documentation of trends in bird numbers alone does not • Almost all areas in the polders included in the co- explain the changes. Research is increasingly important to operation area are increasingly subject to intensive fill gaps in the knowledge needed for a competent manage- farming. These polders can be improved as habitats for ment of the Wadden Sea. breeding and migrating birds with targeted manage- ment. • Salt marshes as well as freshwater and brackish meadows in the protection area can be significantly improved as habitats for breeding and migrating birds if management is targeted to improve these habitats. • There is a need to improve the ecological links between the marine and terrestrial environments by restoring a more natural tidal influence on river mouths, restoring wetlands and extensifying farming practices. • Hunting is one of the most direct and disturbing human factors influencing the habitat use and the distribution of waterbirds in large parts of the Danish Wadden Sea: on water as well as on land. Hunting should be regulat- ed so that it has only an insignificant influence on the habitat use and the distribution of birds in the Wadden 7 Herring Gull colony with pulli on Langli. Photo: Lars Maltha Rasmussen. 88 2. Dansk Resumé Siden 1991
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