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No evidence that declining Whinchat Saxicola rubetra are currently limited by the availability of apparently suitable breeding habitat within the UK uplands

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Abstract

Many species of long-distance Afro-palearctic migrant birds that breed in Europe are showing severe population declines and there is a need to understand in which parts of the migratory cycle the drivers of decline occur. Building on previous research that suggests that widespread Whinchat Saxicola rubetra declines across the European range are not associated with conditions on African non-breeding grounds, we test the role of habitat availability in the UK upland breeding range as a limiting factor, where Whinchat are widely declining. Across semi-natural grassland, heathland, bog and scrubland, Whinchat territories were characterised by higher Bracken Pteridium aquilinum cover, low density of trees and closer proximity to valley bottoms than paired unoccupied reference locations. Upland valleys may provide sheltered, warmer micro-climates, and wetter habitats in the bottom, that are potentially favourable for Whinchat. Occupancy modelling against these habitat measures at an independent set of sites estimated that 41.1% (95% CI 28.9–56.8%) of apparently suitable habitat was occupied by breeding birds. We conclude that the availability of suitable habitat in the main UK upland range does not currently appear to be limiting Whinchat.

Zusammenfassung

Derzeit gibt es keine Hinweise dafür, dass die abnehmenden Bestände der Braunkehlchen ( Saxicola rubetra ) auf zu wenige geeignete Brutgebiete im britischen Hochland zurückzuführen sind

Bei vielen afro-paläarktischen, in Europa brütenden Langstreckenziehern ist ein starker Bestandsrückgang zu verzeichnen, und es muss geklärt werden, in welchen Abschnitten der Zugbewegungen die Ursachen für den Rückgang liegen. Aufbauend auf früheren Forschungsergebnissen, die darauf hindeuten, dass der Rückgang des Braunkehlchens Saxicola rubetra im gesamten europäischen Verbreitungsgebiet nicht mit den Bedingungen in den afrikanischen Überwinterungsgebieten zusammenhängt, untersuchen wir, ob die Habitat-Verfügbarkeit in den Brutgebieten im britischen Hochland, in dem der Rückgang des Braunkehlchens weit verbreitet ist, ein einschränkender Faktor sein könnte. In mehr oder weniger naturbelassenen Gras-, Heide-, Moor- und Buschgebieten zeichneten sich die Reviere der Braunkehlchen durch einen starken Bewuchs mit Farnkraut (Pteridium aquilinum), eine geringere Dichte an Bäumen und eine größere Nähe zu Talsohlen als unbesetzte Vergleichsstandorte aus. Täler im Hochland bieten an ihrer Sohle möglicherweise ein geschütztes, wärmeres Mikroklima und etwas feuchtere Lebensräume, die potenziell günstig für Braunkehlchen sind. Anhand von Belegungsmodellen für diese Habitatfaktoren an einer unabhängigen Reihe von Standorten wurde geschätzt, dass 41,1% (95% CI: 28,9% - 56,8%) der offensichtlich geeigneten Habitate von brütenden Vögeln besetzt waren. Daraus schließen wir, dass die Verfügbarkeit geeigneter Lebensräume im Hauptverbreitungsgebiet des Braunkehlchens im britischen Hochland derzeit keine Einschränkung zu sein scheint.

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Availability of data

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

Code generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Dartmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor National Park Authority and the Exmoor Society/MacEwen Trust for their financial contributions. We are grateful to Andrew Bradbury, Lee Dark, Myriam El Harouchy, James Gordon, Vivien Hartwell, Sophie Laing, Marianna Szpunar, Gareth Thomas and Katherine Westerberg for collecting much of the field data for the project, and Helen Booker, Sarah Harris and two reviewers for their comments and assistance.

Funding

Partial financial support was received from Dartmoor National Park Authority, Exmoor National Park Authority and the Exmoor Society/MacEwen Trust.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, UK Headquarters, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK

    Andrew J. Stanbury

  2. RSPB Centre for Conservation Science, RSPB Scotland, 2 Lochside View, Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh, EH12 9DN, UK

    Irena Tománková, Emma L. Teuten & David J. T. Douglas

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  1. Andrew J. Stanbury
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  2. Irena Tománková
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  3. Emma L. Teuten
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  4. David J. T. Douglas
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Analyses were performed by AJS. The first draft of the manuscript was written by AJS and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Andrew J. Stanbury.

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Stanbury, A.J., Tománková, I., Teuten, E.L. et al. No evidence that declining Whinchat Saxicola rubetra are currently limited by the availability of apparently suitable breeding habitat within the UK uplands. J Ornithol 163, 273–283 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-021-01925-6

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