Description of the downy chicks of the Long-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus climacurus

The Long-tailed Nightjar Caprimulgus climacurus is fairly common across its wide distribution in west and central Africa, south of the Sahel zone, but until this study, its downy chicks had been described only briefly.

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Framework for assessing species vulnerability whilst on migration to a spatially explicit anthropogenic pressure

Migration is a critical component of animal lifecycles, and human development globally is increasingly interfering with animal migration routes. There is not a generally accepted approach to assess impacts of development on migratory species. This study showcases a framework to enable impacts to be assessed comparatively. It uses UK ducks, geese and swans as a case study to illustrate the variation between species.

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Landscape context influences efficacy of protected areas and agri-environment scheme delivery for breeding waders

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A review of existing methods to collect data on seabird flight height distributions and their use in offshore wind farm impact assessments

This document presents a review of existing methods for collecting seabird flight height data and their potential to produce flight height distributions that might be used in CRMs. The strengths, weaknesses, and limitations of different methods are identified and sources of measurement and sampling error, uncertainty and bias assessed. Best practice recommendations are provided for prominent methods and how data might be best utilised to inform stakeholders is considered.

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A review of Curlew headstarting projects in Europe

Breeding waders are among the most threatened of European bird species and the focus of a suite of conservation interventions, such as the improvement of grassland nesting habitats, and the protection of nests and chicks from predators and destruction by agricultural activities. Headstarting is a relatively novel technique in breeding wader conservation, where eggs are removed from the wild and reared in carefully controlled environments. It aims to bypass the threats individuals encounter during vulnerable early life stages in the wild. Headstarting differs from more traditional forms of captive rearing, in that individuals only remain in captivity for a small part of their life cycle (generally egg and hatchling stages) and are released once at a less vulnerable stage to provide a quick, artificial boost to the breeding productivity of a wild population. 

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