EBCC Annual General Meeting

The EBCC Annual General Meeting will be held on 16 April 2024 at 19:00 CEST. The meeting will begin with an administrative part, followed by reports on EBCC activities in 2023 and several short presentations by EBCC National delegates. It is open to all people interested in EBCC. Download the programme.

Small Grant Fund supports two projects

Donations to the Small Grant Fund will support projects in Bulgaria and Cyprus. Thanks to the contributions from organisations and individuals in 2023 and funds provided directly by the EBCC, we can support two bird monitoring projects in 2024. In Cyprus, the aim is to collect monitoring data from the northern part of the divided island and strengthen cooperation between ornithological organisations. In Bulgaria, the Small Grant Fund will help support the common bird monitoring scheme when a gap in funding is highly likely. Further donations to the Small Grant Fund will be appreciated as EBCC must have funds to support new projects in the coming years.

Austrian Atlas 2013–2018

This breeding bird atlas presents the distribution of all 235 bird species bred in Austria in 2013–2018 and compares these results with the first Austrian breeding bird atlas (1981–1985). The data were collected using citizen science, mainly on the online reporting platform ornitho.at – more than 2,300 volunteer bird surveyors collected over 2.1 million records. The surveys were carried out based on the 10 × 10 km grid of the EU INSPIRE Directive – with Austria accounting for 965 of these grid cells. To illustrate distribution, the occurrence or non-occurrence of each species is shown for every quadrant, along with the highest breeding category recorded. In the case of 50 species, records without indication of breeding are also shown. For 89 species, the atlas also shows maps of modelled probabilities of occurrence at the level of the sextants. Of the 235 species recorded, 218 breed regularly in Austria,13 breed irregularly, and four others have only been recorded as exceptional breeders. Two hundred twenty-two of all breeding bird species are native, while 13 are alien species introduced by humans.

III Portuguese Breeding Bird Atlas and Continental Bird Red List

Two significant achievements in Portuguese ornithology were published in December. The III Portuguese Breeding Bird Atlas updated the distribution for 241 species and compared the distribution patterns among two atlases for the first time. This information was also fundamental to reviewing the Bird Red List (only for the Continental part of Portugal) published in 2005.

Of the 241 species recorded as breeders between 2015 and 2021, 225 are native, 16 are non-native species with established populations, 93 have a restricted distribution, and 20 are widely distributed. The atlas captured a strong contraction of the distribution area, mostly in species associated with agricultural habitats.

60 % of the 287 populations evaluated for the update of the Bird Red List were not classified in one of the threatened categories (142 populations assessed as Least Concern and 31 as Near Threatened). Overall, we noted an increase of 9% in threatened populations. Birds associated with agricultural areas, migratory waterbirds, and seabirds have the highest number of species in threatened categories.

Follow data return from monitoring sites “live”

In 2017, DDA (Dachverband Deutscher Avifaunisten), together with its partners, decided to restructure the German Rare Breeding Bird Survey to ‒ step by step ‒ develop a monitoring scheme that delivers site-based data, provide Germany-wide standardised field methods, follows a modular approach and enables a mobile digital data collection and transmission. This approach allows for implementing various protocols for individual species, such as Grey Herons or Corncrakes, or small species groups, such as woodpeckers or reed-breeders, surveyed with tailor-made methods (see the current overview).  Almost all data is collected digitally via ornitho.de or – mainly – with the app NaturaList.

Result of the latest Little Bustard national census in Portugal

The third Little Bustard national survey in 2022 estimated a population of 3944 (min–max: 1425–6823) males in Portugal. This represents a population decline of 77 % and 56 % compared to estimates of the previous surveys from 2006 and 2016. The species has disappeared outside SPAs, while the remaining breeding population concentrated within the protected area network showed a steep decline at a rate of 9 % a year. This steep decline is related to significant habitat loss or degradation caused principally by shifts in agricultural policies, with the conversion of extensive cereal-fallow-rotation systems to intensive permanent pastures for beef production over the last few years, including within SPAs. The Little Bustard will soon become extinct in Portugal without adequate measures to reverse the situation.

Breeding Bird Survey of Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape in Albania

PPNEA (Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania) recently surveyed the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape. Significant findings shed light on the breeding status of the bird species. Of 31 confirmed breeding species, including 17 waterbirds and 14 passerine species, two new species were documented: the Slender-billed Gull and the Greater Spotted Cuckoo. However, news arose regarding land bird populations, particularly the Calandra Lark, which experienced a 70 % decline compared to 2020 due to habitat loss from airport construction. This trend extends to all passerine land birds, highlighting the pivotal role of the Vjosa-Narta area for breeding birds. Additionally, the study highlights the international significance of Narta Lagoon, which hosts 1% of the breeding population of Collared Pratincole in Europe and significant populations of Pied Avocet and Little Tern. Yet, the construction of Vlora Airport poses a threat, with anticipated further declines in bird populations due to habitat disruption and increased disturbance.