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Family GRUIDAE, cranes

Crane, Grus grus

wpe5D.jpg (24487 bytes) This species is breeding from central Europe and Scandinavia to central Siberia. Since several centuries it undergoes a decline of its numbers and a contraction of its breeding area. It became extinct in many regions, and this regression was accelerated during the twentieth century. The major part of the birds breeding in Scandinavia, Finland, Germany and the Baltic States is wintering in Spain and small numbers winter also in France, Portugal and Morocco. Since the end of the 1960’s this populations has nearly doubled, and it has been able to re-establish itself in some regions of France and the British Isles. Currently it can be estimated at 70000 individuals, which 1300-1600 pairs are nesting in the European Union (Germany). Some birds from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe move to the south-east. This population is estimated at 30000-70000 individuals. Its trends are badly known : in some regions it seems to decrease, but in some transit areas it seems to increase. In Greece it doesn’t breed since 1965 (Handrinos & Akriotis). Naturally this birds inhabits swampy clearings, fens and large swamps inside coniferous or deciduous forests. Since about 1969 it became adapted to cultivated areas (Tucker & Heath).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

East Anglia

1

1

C

Danmark

1

4

C

Brandenburg

90

100

C

Hamburg

1

C

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

740

C

Niedersachsen

55

56

C

Sachsen

26

C

Sachsen-Anhalt

26

C

Schleswig-Holstein

2

3

C

Basse-Normandie

1

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family OTIDIDAE, bustards

Little Bustard, Tetrax tetrax

wpe66.jpg (25996 bytes) This bustard is breeding from north-western Africa and the Iberian Peninsula to central Asia, but its distribution is strongly fragmented. The birds from the south-west (southern France, Spain and Portugal) are fairly sedentary, but those from northern France are wholly migratory. The population of the European Union is estimated at 220000-240000 breeding pairs, more than 90% of which are in Spain. Notwithstanding these large numbers, the species is decreasing everywhere because of intensification of agriculture (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds, Tucker & Heath).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Alsace

3

I

Aquitaine

10

30

C

Auvergne

500

600

C

Bourgogne

50

60

M

Centre

1300

1600

M

Champagne-Ardennes

1

M

Ile de France

100

150

M

Languedoc-Roussillon

350

440

C

Lorraine

100

120

M

Pays de la Loire

1400

1700

M

Picardie

25

50

M

Poitou-Charente

600

700

C

Provence/Alpes-Côte d'Azur

525

M

Puglia

100

200

I

Sardegna

400

800

I

Andalucia

10000

I

Aragon

5000

I

Castilla la Mancha

10000

I

Castilla y Leon

10000

I

Cataluña

4000

I

Comunidad Valenciana

2500

I

Extremadura

5000

I

Galicia

10

50

I

Madrid

1500

I

Murcia

1000

I

Navarra

40

50

C

Rioja

500

I

Alentejo

800

8000

M

Algarve

10

100

M

Centro

20

200

M

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo

20

200

M

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Houbara, Chlamydotis undulata

This bustard has a wide distribution from the Canary islands through northern Africa to central Asia. The sedentary population from the Canary islands belongs to the race fuertaventurae, which fluctuated widely in the past. Currently it amounts to 200-400 breeding pairs, but it is strongly threatened by habitat loss, over-grazing, climatic dryness and increasing disturbance from tourism (Tucker & Heath).

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Canarias

200

400

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great Bustard, Otis tarda

wpe67.jpg (24784 bytes) This globally threatened bustard has a wide but very fragmented distribution in Eurasia, from north-western Morocco and the Iberian Peninsula to central Siberia and Mongolia. From the natural steppe it has become adapted to cultivated areas, but since the middle of last century its populations are declining and its breeding area is contracting. The population of the European Union amounts 13500-14000 breeding pairs, but nearly all these birds inhabit the Iberian Peninsula. Notwithstanding increasing protection measures, it doesn’t withstand intensification of agriculture (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Brandenburg

100

I

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

70

I

Sachsen

50

C

Sachsen-Anhalt

50

C

Andalucia

194

I

Aragon

80

I

Castilla la Mancha

1385

I

Castilla y Leon

4643

I

Extremadura

1800

I

Madrid

95

M

Navarra

10

15

I

Alentejo

900

I

Centro

100

I

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE, stilts and avocets

Black-winged Stilt, Himantopus himantopus

wpe68.jpg (27329 bytes) This wader inhabits most of Africa and southern Eurasia, from the Iberian Peninsula to Mongolia. European populations winter mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, but an increasing number of birds winter in the south-western parts of the Iberian Peninsula. The population of the European Union is estimated at 16000 breeding pairs, 75% of which inhabit Spain. In south-western Europe this bird is subjected to wide fluctuations, blurring the long-term trends. In Eastern Europe, including Greece, it is constantly declining due to wetland reclamation (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

East Anglia

1

C

Nederland

12

C

Région Wallonne

0

1

C

Vlaams Gewest

0

1

Sachsen-Anhalt

1

3

C

Aquitaine

1

2

Basse-Normandie

0

1

Bourgogne

0

1

C

Bretagne

62

72

C

Centre

1

2

Haute-Normandie

0

4

C

Languedoc-Roussillon

100

320

C

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

0

1

C

Pays de la Loire

170

173

C

Picardie

0

1

Poitou-Charente

155

188

C

Provence/Alpes-Côte d'Azur

330

530

C

Rhône-Alpes

5

8

C

Abruzzi

0

5

C

Basilicata

1

5

Calabria

1

5

Campania

1

5

Emilia Romagna

125

150

C

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

0

5

C

Lazio

125

150

C

Lombardia

10

C

Marche

125

150

C

Molise

0

5

C

Piemonte

1

5

C

Puglia

125

150

C

Sardegna

125

150

C

Sicilia

20

50

C

Toscana

125

150

C

Veneto

125

150

C

Andalucia

1600

2000

C

Aragon

50

150

C

Asturias

10

50

C

Baleares

150

200

C

Castilla la Mancha

150

500

C

Castilla y Leon

50

200

C

Cataluña

500

700

C

Comunidad Valenciana

514

1054

C

Extremadura

50

200

C

Galicia

10

50

C

Madrid

1

10

C

Navarra

1

10

C

Rioja

10

50

C

Alentejo

250

500

C

Algarve

80

160

C

Centro

50

100

C

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo

130

260

C

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki

160

300

C

Dytiki Ellada

100

500

C

Dytiki Makedonia

10

50

Ionia nisia

0

5

Ipeiros

75

200

C

Kentriki Makedonia

100

500

C

Peloponnisos

5

20

C

Sterea Ellada

20

50

C

Thessalia

10

30

C

Voreio Aigaio

10

30

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Avocet, Recurvirostra avosetta

wpe69.jpg (27054 bytes) This wader inhabits sandy or muddy beaches bordering stretches of shallow water, either brackish or salt. It has a fragmented distribution in Eurasia, from the Iberian Peninsula, England and the southern parts of the Baltic Sea to Pakistan and China. It breeds also in northern, eastern and southern Africa. The birds of Western Europe are wintering along the Atlantic coast, from the British Isles to Ghana. Eastern populations winter in eastern Africa, from Egypt to South Africa. The population of the European Union is estimated at 23700 breeding pairs, which represents about 80% of the total European Population. Notwithstanding this species has considerably increased in some regions, including the Netherlands, it is adversely affected by habitat loss, tourism and pollution (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

East Anglia

200

400

C

East Midlands (GB)

10

100

South East (GB)

10

100

Danmark

3438

3671

C

Nederland

8400

9400

C

Région Wallonne

0

6

C

Vlaams Gewest

410

420

C

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

150

C

Niedersachsen

1200

C

Schleswig-Holstein

1200

1400

C

Basse-Normandie

10

100

Bretagne

10

100

Haute-Normandie

65

100

C

Languedoc-Roussillon

325

375

C

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

40

C

Pays de la Loire

57

C

Picardie

94

C

Poitou-Charente

87

90

C

Provence/Alpes-Côte d'Azur

362

372

C

Emilia Romagna

300

325

C

Puglia

300

325

C

Sardegna

300

325

C

Sicilia

10

C

Veneto

300

325

C

Andalucia

850

C

Aragon

1

5

C

Castilla la Mancha

5

10

C

Cataluña

310

320

C

Comunidad Valenciana

499

558

C

Extremadura

1

5

C

Rioja

1

5

C

Alentejo

10

30

C

Algarve

30

70

C

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo

5

50

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki

200

C

Dytiki Ellada

30

60

C

Ipeiros

10

C

Kentriki Makedonia

120

C

Voreio Aigaio

15

100

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family BURHINIDAE, stone curlews

Stone Curlew, Burhinus oedicnemus

wpe6A.jpg (27885 bytes) This bird with crepuscular and nocturnal habits is breeding in a major part of northern Africa, Europe – northwards to 55°N – and south-western Asia. The birds from the Mediterranean regions are sedentary. Those breeding farther north winter in the south as far as sub-Saharan Africa. Since the second half of last century, this species of dry heaths, calcareous or acid dry grasslands and sand-dunes is declining. Its breeding area is contracting, and it has been extirpated from several regions. The total population of the European Union is currently estimated at 30000-50000 breeding pairs (Tucker & Heath).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

East Anglia

70

75

East Midlands (GB)

1

South East (GB)

5

10

South West (GB)

70

75

Brandenburg

0

2

C

Sachsen

0

2

C

Sachsen-Anhalt

0

2

C

Alsace

160

C

Aquitaine

10

C

Auvergne

460

580

C

Basse-Normandie

1

5

Bourgogne

300

380

C

Bretagne

1

5

Centre

800

1000

C

Champagne-Ardennes

330

400

C

Corse

1

5

Franche-Comté

1

3

C

Haute-Normandie

10

20

C

Ile de France

110

140

C

Languedoc-Roussillon

170

220

C

Limousin

20

30

C

Midi-Pyrénées

150

200

C

Nord-Pas-de-Calais

1

5

Pays de la Loire

260

330

C

Picardie

25

50

C

Poitou-Charente

600

800

C

Provence/Alpes-Côte d'Azur

260

380

C

Rhône-Alpes

100

140

C

Basilicata

1

12

C

Calabria

1

12

C

Emilia Romagna

1

12

C

Friuli-Venezia Giulia

1

12

C

Lazio

0

1

C

Lombardia

0

1

C

Marche

0

1

C

Piemonte

1

5

Puglia

1

12

C

Sardegna

100

200

C

Sicilia

20

200

C

Toscana

1

12

C

Veneto

1

12

C

Andalucia

1500

2250

C

Aragon

1500

2500

C

Asturias

200

300

C

Baleares

100

500

Canarias

300

500

Castilla la Mancha

2000

3000

C

Castilla y Leon

2000

3000

C

Cataluña

800

1200

C

Comunidad Valenciana

500

750

C

Extremadura

1500

2000

C

Madrid

300

450

C

Murcia

200

300

C

Navarra

200

C

Rioja

100

150

C

Alentejo

300

1200

C

Algarve

80

320

C

Centro

15

60

C

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo

40

160

C

Norte

50

200

C

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki

50

100

C

Dytiki Ellada

1

5

C

Dytiki Makedonia

50

100

Ionia nisia

1

5

Ipeiros

10

50

C

Kentriki Makedonia

50

100

C

Kriti

1

2

C

Peloponnisos

0

10

C

Sterea Ellada

15

50

C

Thessalia

10

50

C

Voreio Aigaio

10

50

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family GLAREOLIDAE, coursers and pratincoles

Cream-coloured Courser, Cursorius cursor

This bird inhabits sub-deserts and dunes in northern Africa and in Western and Central Asia. On the Canary islands it is represented by its nominate race cursor, which has strongly declined since 1970 following habitat destruction and disturbance by tourism. Its population is currently estimated at 200-250 breeding pairs (Tucker & Heath).

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Canarias

50

100

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Collared Pratincole, Glareola pratincola

wpe6B.jpg (25360 bytes) This pratincole inhabits a major part of Africa and south-western Eurasia, from the Iberian Peninsula to eastern Kazakhstan. European birds winter in Africa. The total population of the European Union is estimated at 5000 breeding pairs, but it is undergoing a dramatic decline since 1970. The reason for this is habitat loss through intensification of agriculture (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Provence/Alpes-Côte d'Azur

10

20

C

Emilia Romagna

2

10

C

Puglia

2

10

C

Sardegna

20

30

C

Sicilia

0

20

C

Toscana

2

10

C

Veneto

2

10

C

Andalucia

500

600

C

Castilla la Mancha

25

75

C

Castilla y Leon

1

10

C

Cataluña

100

C

Comunidad Valenciana

55

85

C

Extremadura

170

250

C

Murcia

1

10

C

Alentejo

150

600

C

Algarve

50

200

C

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo

30

120

C

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki

100

300

C

Dytiki Ellada

25

100

C

Ipeiros

50

150

C

Kentriki Makedonia

320

C

Peloponnisos

1

C

Sterea Ellada

15

30

C

Voreio Aigaio

25

100

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family CHARADRIIDEAE, plovers

Dotterel, Charadrius (Eudromias) morinellus

wpe6C.jpg (24641 bytes) This plover inhabits arctic tundra and alpine meadows. Its Eurasian distribution is strongly fragmented, from the Pyrenees and Scotland to Mongolia and Eastern Siberia. It winters from Morocco to Iran. The population of the European Union (12 Member States) counts not more than 1000 breeding pairs, 95% of which inhabit Scotland. This represents only 1.5-5% of the total European population. This species has undergone a strong decline since the middle of last century, but the Scottish populations seems currently to be stable, and some recent colonisation in the Alps and Pyrenees have been documented (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

North (GB)

20

50

Scotland

600

700

C

North West (GB)

10

50

Nederland

0

10

C

Languedoc-Roussillon

1

C

Abruzzi

0

5

C

Marche

0

1

C

Trentino-Alto Adige

0

5

C

Cataluña

1

10

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Golden Plover, Pluvialis apricaria (see also Annex II)

wpeB4.jpg (25345 bytes) This plover inhabits tundra, wet moorland, fens and alpine meadows of northern Europe and western Asia, from Iceland to central Siberia. The total European population is estimated at 440000-785000 breeding pairs. The population of the European Union has undergone a strong decrease, and the species has disappeared from the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and most of Germany following destruction of its habitats. The British population, currently of about 25000 pairs, has also decreased by about 20% following afforestation of the open meadows, less intensive management of its habitats for Red Grouse (Lagopus lagopus scoticus) and intensification of the sheep breeding (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

Min

Max

R

Donegal

20

50

C

North West

100

200

C

West

200

300

C

East Midlands (GB)

600

C

North (GB)

3400

C

North West (GB)

1550

C

Northern Ireland

50

C

Scotland

20000

C

Wales

600

C

West Midlands (GB)

2100

C

Yorkshire and Humberside

1800

C

Danmark

5

10

C

Niedersachsen

31

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spur-winged Plover, Hoplopterus spinosus

This plover has a wide distribution in Africa, the Near East and the Middle East. It reaches north-eastern Greece, where its already marginal population is declining since the mid-1970’s. The main reasons for this are wetland reclamation and predation by feral dogs, jackals (Canis aureus) and Yellow-legged Gulls ( Larus michahellis) (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds, Handrinos & Akriotis).

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Anatoliki Makedonia, Thraki

30

50

C

Kentriki Makedonia

1

5

C

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Family SCOLOPACIDAE,  sandpipers, snipes, curlews, and phalaropes

Ruff, Philomachus pugnax (see also Annex II)

wpeB5.jpg (24632 bytes) This wader is breeding nearly throughout Eurasia, from the British Isles to Kamchatka, reaching 60°N. Northern birds inhabit tundra and swampy clearings of forested regions. Birds of the south-west, e.g. the Netherlands, inhabit wet grasslands. Most of the populations winter in sub-Saharan Africa. This species doesn’t live in pairs, and during the breeding period the males gather in arenas. A census of these males doesn’t necessarily indicate the number of breeding females. Males and females also migrate separately, at different times and following different routes as well. Populations of this species are consequently difficult to estimate. The term "breeding pairs" is used only for convenience and uniformity. The population of the European Union (12 Member States) is estimated at 2000-3000 pairs, which represents only a very small fraction of the global European population estimated at 3.28 millions of pairs. However large, this population is declining following wetland reclamation and intensification of agriculture (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

Min

Max

R

East Anglia

6

M

North West (GB)

2

M

Scotland

0

1

M

South West (GB)

1

10

M

Danmark

750

M

Nederland

400

800

M

Vlaams Gewest

1

5

M

Brandenburg

0

10

M

Bremen

3

M

Hamburg

1

3

M

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

0

10

M

Niedersachsen

200

M

Schleswig-Holstein

150

300

M

Basse-Normandie

2

5

M

Bretagne

0

1

M

Haute-Normandie

2

4

M

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great Snipe, Gallinago media

This wader is breeding in northern and north-eastern Europe and north-western Asia, between 50°N and 68°N. It winters in sub-Saharan Africa. It is not longer breeding in the European Union (12 Member States), where it occurs only as a passage migrant. Its European populations, estimated at about 230000 breeding pairs, are strongly declining since the second half of last century, especially the most western ones. The main reasons for this decline are wetland reclamation and degradation of grasslands liable to be flooded (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds, Tucker & Heath).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Slender-billed Curlew, Numenius tenuirostris

This globally threatened curlew inhabits wet plains in western Siberia, but its exact breeding area remains unknown. As a passage migrant it is known in the Mediterranean regions of Europe, and its main wintering quarters are probably in north-western Africa. During the last decades of last century it has undergone a dramatic population crash, which apparently never stabilised. Its world population counts probably not more than 50-270 individuals, but these figures are based on very few reliable observations (Tucker & Heath).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wood Sandpiper, Tringa glareola

wpe6D.jpg (24352 bytes) This wader inhabits peat bogs and wet grasslands in boreal and temperate regions of Eurasia, mainly between 50°N and 73°N. Its European populations are wintering in sub-Saharan Africa. The only populations of the European Union (12 Member States) are those of Scotland, Germany and Denmark, which are all definitely declining because of wetland reclamation. They are estimated at 50-100 breeding pairs, while the global European population can still be estimated at 350000 pairs, excluding the huge Russian population (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

Scotland

2

6

C

Danmark

47

64

C

Nederland

5

10

C

Niedersachsen

0

1

C

Schleswig-Holstein

0

1

----------------------------------------------------------------------------End-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Red-necked Phalarope, Phalaropus lobatus

wpe6E.jpg (24125 bytes) This wader inhabits the arctic and sub-arctic tundra in Eurasia and North America. The only populations of the European Union (12 Member States) are those of Scotland and Ireland. They amount currently to about 20 breeding pairs, and are constantly declining since the beginning of the twentieth century (EBCC Atlas of European Breeding Birds).

o

NUTS

MIN

MAX

R

West

0

1

C

Scotland

20

C

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- End ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Last update : 06/10/06