A preliminary overview of monitoring for raptors in Sweden

• Swedish diurnal raptor and owl monitoring is to a large extent based on species specific projects with long-standing traditions, migration counts at specific migration hot-spots, and a nation-wide bird survey. The best-known and longlived projects are the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla projects, which continue to make important contributions to the knowledge about effects of environmental pollutants in wild birds. For many diurnal birds of prey, trend estimation is based on the long time series (1973–) of migration counts at Falsterbo in southernmost Sweden, whereas possibilities to detect population trends in most owl species are still relatively low. New protocols, however, are being developed to better incorporate night active-birds such as owls in the Swedish Bird Survey. Much raptor monitoring data is being collected by volunteers. Sweden has several valuable networks for bird monitoring in general, although special efforts could be directed towards better coordination and publication of the on-going raptor work within a common framework. Potential threats (e.g. forestry, wind power development, train collisions, declining prey populations, pollutants) and their effects on raptor populations should preferably also be included in monitoring protocols to a higher extent than at present.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Zoologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Zoology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

diurnal raptors

owls

monitoring

Sweden

Falsterbo

Swedish Bird Survey

Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

environmental pollutants

zoologisk ekologi

Animal Ecology

zoologi

Zoology

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)