Waterbirds around the world

A global overview of the conservation, management and research of the

world's waterbird flyways

Edited by G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith and D.A. Stroud

Assisted by L.K. Bridge, I. Colquhoun, D.A. Scott,

D.B.A. Thompson and L.G. Underhill

EDINBURGH, UK: THE STATIONERY OFFICE

Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds

© Scottish Natural Heritage 2006

First published in 2006 by The Stationery Office Limited71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ, UK.

Applications for reproduction should be made to Scottish Natural Heritage,Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW, UK.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 11 497333 4

Recommended citation:Boere, G.C., Galbraith, C.A. & Stroud, D.A. (eds). 2006.

Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. 960 pp.

Names used for geographical entities do not imply recognition, by the organisers of the Waterbirds around the world conference or othersupporting organisations or governments, of the political status or boundaries of any particular territory. Names of territories used (andany alternatives) are included solely to help users of this publication apply information contained within this volume for waterbird conservation purposes. The views expressed in papers included within this volume do not necessarily represent views of the editorsor the organisations and governments that supported the conference and this publication.

Cover photography: Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus arriving at Martin Mere, England. Photo: Paul Marshall.

(www.paulmarshallphotography.com)

Copyright of all photographs used in this publication resides with the named photographers.

Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds

The Spotted Crake Porzana porzana is a rare breeding bird inthe UK, with around 30-70 pairs nesting annually. It may haveincreased in recent decades. However, recording standards arepoor and an intensive search of new information showed that inmost years more than twice as many pairs were breeding thanthe official record suggested. Totals also reflected observereffort. A failure of observers to submit records is hampering theprotection of sites of importance for Spotted Crakes, and theprocess of rectifying this is time-consuming. Better informationflows are urgently needed.

Spotted Crakes are rare breeding birds favouring a smallnumber of sites where suitable wetlands exist. Most records are

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Spotted Crakes Porzana porzana breeding in the UK - a history andevaluation of current status

Ian Francis1 & David A. Stroud2

1Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, 10 Albyn Terrace, Aberdeen, AB10 1YP, UK. (email: Ian.Francis@rspb.org.uk)2Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Monkstone House, City Road, Peterborough, PE1 1JY, UK. (email: David.Stroud@jncc.gov.uk)

Francis, I. & Stroud, D.A. 2006. Spotted Crakes Porzana porzana breeding in the UK - a history and evaluation of current status.Waterbirds around the world. Eds. G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith & D.A. Stroud. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 491-492.

Fig. 1. Graph shows comparison of UK totals (Sharrock 1976, Gibbons et al. 1993, Gilbert 2002)

Male Spotted Crake (right) caught in 2000 at Insh Marshes, Scotland and

fitted with radio tag, leading to discovery of a nest and chicks (above).

Photos: C. Donald, I. Mackenzie.

of singing birds. Some of these records are passed to local birdrecorders and then to the UK Rare Breeding Birds Panel, whichincludes both of the current authors. The panel’s reports esti-mated a UK population of around 30 pairs. A more intensivenational survey in 1999 recorded 73 singing males. This studyshows that previous annual figures are also underestimates inmost years.

Unpublished and published data sources were searched,mainly local bird reports, and many extra records of Spotted

Crakes each year were found. Many of these had been poorlyrecorded and normal reporting processes had not been effective.UK totals were adjusted to take account of the new informationand the population trend since the early 1800s was reassessedtogether with current status and distribution.

Evidence from the 19th Century indicates that SpottedCrakes were once significantly more abundant. During the early20th Century records were few, but this probably implies verylittle recording. Since the 1960s, numbers have apparentlyincreased, but periods of more intensive survey, such as nationalbreeding bird atlases and the 1999 survey, produced morerecords (Fig. 1). However, in all years except 1999, the knowntotals were significant underestimates and even published atlasmaps provide an incomplete picture (Fig. 2).

To protect important sites for rare breeding birds such asSpotted Crakes, good information flows are required, at bothlocal and national levels. This study has highlighted deficienciesin UK data collation processes, and shown that they can be recti-fied. But this is time-consuming, and an improved system forcapture of site-based conservation data is urgently needed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSWe are grateful to all local observers and county recorders forsubmitting records to RBBP and to JNCC, the Statutory CountryAgencies, RSPB and BTO for provision of information.

REFERENCESSharrock, J.T.R. 1976. The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain

and Ireland. T. & A.D. Poyser, Calton.Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993. The New

Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-1991. T. & A.D. Poyser, London.

Gilbert, G. 2002. The status and habitat of Spotted CrakesPorzana porzana in Britain in 1999. Bird Study 49: 79-86.

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Fig. 2. Comparison of published UK Atlas map (1988-91) (left) with revised map for same period (right).

Spotted Crake Porzana porzana nesting location in Scotland. Photo:

Ian Francis