Dotterel national breeding survey in Britain in 1999 - raw data

These data are from a national survey of breeding dotterel <i>Charadrius morinellus</i> carried out in 1999. This was the second national survey of breeding dotterel in Britain, undertaken to provide a reliable population estimate for dotterel.

This dataset contains the raw data and data for other species such as skylark and meadow pipit, which were also recorded. The other species records, collected using non-standard methods, are in a separate survey within this dataset.

Over half of the potential breeding habitat of Dotterel in Britain was selected for survey using a random sampling technique. Ireland was not included due to the lack of recent breeding records. Two methods were used to estimate the population size, with an agreed best estimate of 630 breeding males (Whitfield, 2002). The number of pairs estimated in Whitfield (2002), were derived from an analysis of these raw data.

The national population estimate was significantly higher in 1987/88 (estimated to be 840 breeding pairs), but numbers were probably greatest in 1989 and declined in the 1990s. The change in numbers may be due to influences away from the breeding grounds or a redistribution of birds away from Scotland to breeding sites elsewhere in the Palaearctic.

This survey revealed that the population had contracted and the majority of the birds (almost 93% of the population) were breeding in three regions in Scotland: the central and east regions and in the north Highlands.

This survey was carried out under the Statutory Conservation Agencies and RSPB Breeding Birds Scheme (SCARABBS) partnership. The survey was funded by Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).