A Review of the Ornithological Interest of Sssis in England
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Natural England Research Report NERR015 A review of the ornithological interest of SSSIs in England www.naturalengland.org.uk Natural England Research Report NERR015 A review of the ornithological interest of SSSIs in England Allan Drewitt, Tristan Evans and Phil Grice Natural England Published on 31 July 2008 The views in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of Natural England. You may reproduce as many individual copies of this report as you like, provided such copies stipulate that copyright remains with Natural England, 1 East Parade, Sheffield, S1 2ET ISSN 1754-1956 © Copyright Natural England 2008 Project details This report results from research commissioned by Natural England. A summary of the findings covered by this report, as well as Natural England's views on this research, can be found within Natural England Research Information Note RIN015 – A review of bird SSSIs in England. Project manager Allan Drewitt - Ornithological Specialist Natural England Northminster House Peterborough PE1 1UA [email protected] Contractor Natural England 1 East Parade Sheffield S1 2ET Tel: 0114 241 8920 Fax: 0114 241 8921 Acknowledgments This report could not have been produced without the data collected by the many thousands of dedicated volunteer ornithologists who contribute information annually to schemes such as the Wetland Bird Survey and to their county bird recorders. We are extremely grateful to these volunteers and to the organisations responsible for collating and reporting bird population data, including the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Joint Nature Conservancy Council seabird team, the Rare Breeding Birds Panel and the Game and Wildlife Conservancy Trust. We are also grateful to Natural England regional staff who provided comments and additional information during the production of this report. A review of the ornithological interest of SSSIs in England i Summary This review is a systematic assessment of the coverage of important aggregations of breeding and non-breeding birds by England’s network of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The proportions of the English breeding and non-breeding bird populations which occur within SSSIs has been estimated for 111 regularly occurring species which are (or could be) designated interest features under the SSSI selection guidelines. Each species is described individually, with separate estimates of coverage for breeding and non-breeding populations where relevant. The main ornithological features of special scientific interest relevant to this report are nationally important aggregations of breeding or non-breeding birds, smaller isolated colonies of particular species (e.g. Grey Herons) and assemblages of breeding birds. Data from a wide range of sources have been reviewed to identify and list important aggregations for each species. Key data sources include the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), the Seabird Colony Register and the recent national Seabird 2000 census, Rare Breeding Bird Panel reports and single species national surveys (e.g. Nightjar 2004 and Woodlark 2006). This is the first review of the coverage of important bird populations by SSSIs in England. It shows that coverage is generally very high, commonly greater than 90% of the English population, for many of the most aggregated species, including wintering and passage wildfowl and waders and breeding seabirds. However, coverage is much lower for some groups, in particular near-shore marine species such as wintering divers, grebes and seaducks, and the more abundant and dispersed breeding species associated with farmland. Although coverage is high for many non-breeding waterbirds, a number of these are highly dependent on habitats outside designated sites for foraging or roosting. Protected areas are a cornerstone of efforts to conserve England’s avifauna and this assessment is important for three reasons. Firstly, by providing information on the proportions of the populations of rare, threatened or otherwise important species which are protected by designated sites, it can inform conservation strategies such as species and habitat action plans under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Secondly, it sets individual sites into context, thus highlighting their importance and reinforcing the case for their protection and sustainable management. Finally, it identifies gaps in coverage which may point to a need for further designations, or alternative conservation strategies such as the effective deployment of wider countryside measures (e.g. agri-environment schemes). Such an assessment is especially timely given the potential threats to biodiversity from man-induced climate change and the important role of designated sites in conserving England’s avifauna the coming decades. ii Natural England Research Report NERR015 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Selection Guidelines 2 Breeding aggregations and localities of very rare species 2 Smaller isolated colonies of seabirds and other selected colonial species 2 Important aggregations of non-breeding birds 2 Assemblages of breeding birds 2 Rare species and features 3 Variety of species 3 3 Interest features and levels of protection 4 4 Data sources 5 5 Species Accounts 7 6 Species Tables 9 7 References 201 A review of the ornithological interest of SSSIs in England iii Appendices Appendix 1: Ornithological selection guidelines for SSSIs 203 Appendix 2: Numbers of SSSIs notified for birds 204 Appendix 3: SSSIs including breeding bird assemblages 205 Appendix 4: Thresholds for regionally important sites for breeding waders on wet meadows 225 iv Natural England Research Report NERR015 List of tables Table 1 Red-throated Diver Gavia stellata 9 Table 2 Black-throated Diver Gavia arctica 10 Table 3 Great Northern Diver Gavia immer 11 Table 4 Little Grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis 11 Table 5 Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus 12 Table 6 Red-necked Grebe Podiceps grisegena 13 Table 7 Slavonian Grebe Podiceps auritus 13 Table 8 Black-necked Grebe Podiceps nigricollis 14 Table 9 Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis 15 Table 10 Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus 15 Table 11 Storm-petrel Hydrobates pelagicus 16 Table 12 Gannet Morus bassanus 17 Table 13 Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo 17 Table 14 Shag Phalacrocorax aristotelis 18 Table 15 Bittern Botaurus stellata 19 Table 16 Little Egret Egretta garzetta 20 Table 17 Grey Heron Ardea cinerea 21 Table 18 Mute Swan Cygnus olor 21 Table 19 Bewick’s Swan Cygnus columbianus bewicki 22 Table 20 Whooper Swan Cygnus Cygnus 23 Table 21 Bean Goose Anser fabalis fabalis 23 Table 22 Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus 24 Table 23 European White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons albifrons 24 Table 24 Icelandic Greylag Goose Anser anser 25 Table 25 Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis 25 Table 26 Dark-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla bernicla 26 Table 27 Light-bellied Brent Goose Branta bernicla hrota 27 Table 28 Shelduck Tadorna tadorna 27 Table 29 Wigeon Anas Penelope 28 Table 30 Gadwall Anas strepera 29 Table 31 Teal Anas crecca 30 Table 32 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos 31 Table 33 Pintail Anas acuta 32 Table 34 Garganey Anas querquedula 33 Table 35 Shoveler Anas clypeata 33 Table 36 Pochard Aythya farina 34 Table 37 Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula 35 A review of the ornithological interest of SSSIs in England v Table 38 Scaup Aythya marila 36 Table 39 Eider Somateria mollisima 36 Table 40 Common Scoter Melanitta nigra 37 Table 41 Goldeneye Bucephala clangula 38 Table 42 Smew Mergellus albellus 38 Table 43 Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator 39 Table 44 Goosander Mergus merganser 39 Table 45 Honey Buzzard Pernis apivorus 40 Table 46 Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus 40 Table 47 Hen Harrier Circus cyaneus 41 Table 48 Goshawk Accipiter gentiles 42 Table 49 Merlin Falco columbarius 42 Table 50 Hobby Falco subbuteo 43 Table 51 Peregrine Falco peregrinus 44 Table 52 Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix 44 Table 53 Quail Coturnix coturnix 45 Table 54 Water Rail Rallus aquaticus 45 Table 55 Spotted Crake Porzana porzana 46 Table 56 Corncrake Crex crex 47 Table 57 Coot Fulica atra 47 Table 58 Common Crane Grus grus 48 Table 59 Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus 48 Table 60 Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta 49 Table 61 Stone-curlew Burhinus oedicnemus 50 Table 62 Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula 51 Table 63 Golden Plover Pluvialis apricaria 52 Table 64 Grey Plover Pluvialis squatarola 53 Table 65 Lapwing Vanellus vanellus 53 Table 66 Knot Calidris canutus 54 Table 67 Sanderling Calidris alba 55 Table 68 Purple Sandpiper Calidris maritime 55 Table 69 Dunlin Calidris alpine 56 Table 70 Ruff Philomachus pugnax 57 Table 71 Snipe Gallinago gallinago 58 Table 72 Black-tailed Godwit Limosa limosa 59 Table 73 Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 60 Table 74 Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus 60 Table 75 Curlew Numenius arquata 61 Table 76 Spotted Redshank Tringa erythropus 62 vi Natural England Research Report NERR015 Table 77 Redshank Tringa tetanus 62 Table 78 Greenshank Tringa nebularia 63 Table 79 Common Sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos 64 Table 80 Turnstone Arenaria interpres 64 Table 81 Mediterranean Gull Larus melanocephalus 65 Table 82 Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus 66 Table 83 Common Gull Larus canus 67 Table 84 Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus 67 Table 85 Herring Gull Larus argentatus 68 Table 86 Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus 69 Table 87 Kittiwake Rissa tridactyla 70 Table 88 Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis 71 Table 90 Common Tern Sterna hirundo 72 Table 91 Arctic Tern