IUCN SSC Specialist Group

2018 Report

Richard Hearn

Chair Mission statement Targets for the 2017-2020 quadrennium

Richard Hearn The Duck Specialist Group (DSG) works to Assess generate and disseminate knowledge and best Research activities: (1) support the develop- Red List Authority Coordinator practice between members and others with an ment of monitoring in East Asia; (2) support the BirdLife International interest in duck conservation and management, development of monitoring in Africa; (3) status and to ensure priority issues for duck conserva- assessment of migratory in the East Location/Affiliation tion are identified and addressed. Asian-Australasian flyway; (4) status assess- Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, ment process embedded into the East Asian- Gloucestershire GL2 7BT, UK Projected impact for the 2017-2020 Australasian Flyway Partnership; (5) support the quadrennium development of national duck wing schemes in Number of members By the end of 2020, we envisage: (1) significant Europe; (6) support the development of national 230 improvements in the implementation of action hunting bag monitoring schemes in Europe; plans for key threatened taxa (working with (7) undertake assessment of the status of global Social networks partners including the Threatened Waterfowl duck hunting; (8) support Arctic seaduck monitoring in East Asia. Website: Specialist Group): Baer’s Pochard (Aythya baeri), www.ducksg.org Scaly-sided Merganser (Mergus squamatus), Plan Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) and Planning: (1) support the implementation of Velvet Scoter (Melanitta fusca); (2) improved action plans for Baer’s Pochard, Scaly-sided knowledge of the conservation status of Merganser, Long-tailed Duck and Velvet Scoter; ducks in key flyways, particularly the East (2) develop action plan for Common Pochard Asian-Australasian flyway; (3) improvements with the African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird in sustainable management of huntable Agreement (AEWA). ducks in Europe, especially Common Pochard Network (Aythya ferina), through collaborative projects Capacity building: develop guidance on the use with game management organisations and of telemetry techniques for ducks. authorities; (4) improved understanding of the scale of duck hunting in other global flyways; (5) development of a more diverse membership, particularly in under-represented regions such as South America and Australasia; (6) maintenance of communication tools; (7) provision of guidance on best practice for fieldwork methods, particularly telemetry techniques. Spectacled Eider (Somateria fischeri), Common Pochard (Aythya ferina), Near Threatened Vulnerable, Slimbridge Photo: John Anderson Photo: James S. Lees

Activities and results 2018 Plan

Assess Planning Research activities i. Action Plans for Baer’s Pochard and Scaly- sided Merganser: good progress with a number i. Data management and trend analysis training of actions, as well as the first international is ongoing in the Yangtze floodplain, China workshop on Baer’s Pochard held in China in (a key wintering region for migratory ducks), March 2018 and third international Scaly-sided with the next coordinated survey planned for Merganser workshop held in China in December January 2020; Baer’s Pochard Task Force is 2018. Action Plans for Long-tailed Duck and supporting surveys for Baer’s Pochard which Velvet Scoter: Velvet Scoter action plan adopted also supports baseline monitoring of all water- by AEWA Parties in 2018 and the first European . (KSR #12) Seaduck International Working Group meeting ii. The status assessment of migratory ducks will be held in Germany in March 2020. Falcated Duck ( falcata), in the East Asian-Australasian flyway was (KSR #31) Near Threatened completed as a paper for the East Asian-Aus- Photo: John Anderson tralasian Flyway Partnership (EAAFP) 10th Acknowledgements Summary of activities 2018 Meeting of Partners (MOP10) in December 2018, in collaboration with Wetlands International, We would like to thank the following long-term Species Conservation Cycle ratio: 2/5 Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust and WWF China. supporters of the Duck Specialist Group: the Assess 5 ||||| Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Office National The paper supported the establishment of a Plan 1 | formal status assessment process for all EAAF de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage and the Main KSRs addressed: 12, 31, 33 migratory waterbird populations under EAAFP, Institute of Biological Problems of the North. KSR: Key Species Result which will begin at MOP11. (KSR #12)) We would also like to thank the following key project supporters: BANCA (), iii. A new duck wing scheme has been initiated Beijing Forestry University, Hengshui National in the UK by the British Association for Shooting Nature Reserve, Hengshui University, KfW and Conservation (BASC) in 2018/19, and trans- Entwicklungsbank, Wildlife Conservation Society lation of the Office National de la Chasse et and WWF China. Scottish Natural Heritage, de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS) wing guide into Tour du Valat, Scottish Ornithologists’ Club, RPS Italian and Finnish is underway. (KSR #33) Group and Bloomsbury Publishing sponsored iv. Work is ongoing to develop advanced statis- the 5th Pan-European Duck Symposium in 2018. tical methods, establish national schemes in UK and France, and work with AEWA to prioritise huntable duck species for flyway-scale harvest management. (KSR #33) v. Planning is underway for an assessment of the status of duck hunting in the East Asian-Australasian flyway. (KSR #33)