The abundance and conservation status of redshank Tringa totanus nesting on saltmarshes in Great Britain Original Research Article

We report the results of two surveys of the same sample of 77 saltmarsh sites around the coast of Great Britain, conducted in 1985 and 1996 to estimate breeding abundance and the conservation status (i.e. stable, increasing or declining) of redshank Tringa totanus nesting on saltmarshes. The 1985 estimate was 21 022 pairs (confidence limits: 14 941–26 818 pairs) and the 1996 estimate was 16 433 pairs (confidence limits: 11 291–21 943 pairs). Saltmarshes, therefore, support c. 45% of the population of redshank breeding in Great Britain. We present evidence to show that these abundance estimates are unlikely to be biased as a result of poor regional or habitat coverage by the sample of sites surveyed. Comparison of breeding density changes within survey sites between 1985 and 1996 showed a significant mean decline of 10.98 pairs km−2 (confidence limits: 4.68–16.83 pairs km−2). This represented a loss of 4807 breeding pairs, i.e. a 22.9% decline in abundance. We suggest that conservation measures are needed, including the use of habitat creation for breeding redshank. A national assessment of the impact of current grazing practices on nesting redshank is also required as the basis for assessing which grazing practices are currently a threat, and of agricultural policy or conservation management measures to mitigate these.