Wadden Sea Ecosystem 40: Trends of Breeding Birds

Trends 1991-2017 and results of total counts in 2006 and 2012

The progress report ‘Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea - Trends 1991-2017 and results of total counts in 2006 and 2012’ provides baseline information on trends in breeding numbers in the period 1991-2017 and an account on total counts in 2006 and 2012, all carried out in the framework of the TMAP program. The results show that about 395,000 breeding pairs of coastal breeding birds occur in the international Wadden Sea, of which 75% inhabit the islands and Halligen. Overall 18 from 33 species (55%) have experienced decreases since the start of the monitoring scheme in 1991. Most decreases are reported from the western part of the Wadden Sea in The Netherlands and Niedersachsen, but the data also point at intriguing regional dynamics in breeding numbers. The results largely confirm assessments made in the last Quality Status Report in 2017 and have also initiated various conservation actions all over the Wadden Sea.

Citation: K. Koffijberg, T. Bregnballe, J. Frikke, B. Gnep, B. Hälterlein, M. B. Hansen, P. Körber, G. Reichert, J. Umland, T. van der Meij (2020) Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea: Trends 1991- 2017 and results of total counts in 2006 and 2012. Wadden Sea Ecosystem No. 40. Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Joint Monitoring Group of Breeding Birds in the Wadden Sea, Wilhelmshaven, Germany.