Wetland Bird Survey 1998-99 published for the United Kingdom

The Wetland Bird Survey 1998-99

Wildfowl and Wader Counts

August 2000

WeBS is the monitoring scheme for non-breeding waterbirds in the UK which aims to provide the principal data for the conservation of their populations and wetland habitats. The data collected are used to assess the size of waterbird populations, determine trends in numbers and distribution, and assess the importance of individual sites for waterbirds, in line with the requirements of international conservation Conventions and Directives.

Continuing a tradition begun in 1947, around 3,000 volunteer counters participate in synchronized monthly counts of wetlands of all habitat types, mainly during the winter period. WeBS is a partnership among the British Trust of Ornithology, The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee.

This report presents the results of WeBS in 1998-99 and includes data from other national and local waterbird monitoring schemes. It provides a single, comprehensive source of information on the current status and distribution of waterbirds in the UK for those interested in the conservation of the populations of these species and the wetland sites they use.

Available from the WeBS Secretariat, WWT, Slimbridge, Glos. GLS2 7BT, UK and Natural History Book Service, 2-3 Wills Road, Totnes, Devon TQ9 5XN, UK.

-- text reproduced from the book's cover.