Number 1 – Breeding waders in Europe: a review of population size estimates and a bibliography of information sources

This is a review of population size estimates of all the Palearctic wader (Charadrii) species in the greater part of Europe (Iceland, Faroe Islans, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switserland, East and West Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Great Britain, Ireland, France, north-east Spain and Portugal), plus Svalbard, north and east Greenland and Ellesmere Island. The review is based on published sources and on the results of the most recent surveys, supplied as unpublished marterial by national correspondents. A total of 37 wader species are included. Together they give a total of 6.5 million breeding waders in Europe and a further 100 000 pairs in Svalbard, Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Species’ totals range from 30 pairs (Terek Sandpiper) to 869 000 pairs (Lapwing). The completeness and accuracy of the survey in the different countries varies greatly. For each species an annotated Searchabl, summarizing the population size estimates, this document aims to list all published sources on which the estimates are based, and also to list all the recent (from 1950 onwards) publications on the breeding biology of waders in Europe. The bibliography consists of 3374 entries: 326 for breeding biological studies of general interest, 887 for species specific studies and 2161 for publications on breeding waders surveys, listed by country. The gaps in the current knowledge of the distribution, size and biology of European breeding wader populations are highlighted. This would stimualte and focus future work on breeding waders both in the areas covered by this review, and elsewhere in Europe.

Available via Searchable Ornithological Research Archive