The 2025 Bird Census News is out - entirely dedicated to acoustic monitoring. From the introduction to the EBCC Acoustic Monitoring Group, survey results on the role of acoustic monitoring in bird research, national case studies from Europe, and discussions on technical challenges: shorturl.at/jdTfy
How are Cinereous vultures doing in Armenia? The breeding population was followed from 2003 to 2019, with the latest count of 12 to 14 breeding pairs, mainly in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. Although during this time, it presents a 110% increase, the threats remain. More: shorturl.at/wZS4h
The use of citizen science data (common bird monitoring and online portal) to investigate the impact of Usutu virus on bird populations in Belgium. In 31 of the 60 species, annual changes were >20% worse inside affected areas than outside (11 species were >50% worse). More:https://shorturl.at/teoFW
Colleagues from @Birdlife Denmark have compared historical 100-year-old data with the three Danish Atlas projects. Conclusions: breeding ranges of open land bird species have decreased drastically, whereas species connected to forest and scrub have gained range. More: www.ebcc.info/.../01/bcn-3...
Black-headed bunting, a species typical of SE Europe, is in decline. Many countries in this region are in the early stages of monitoring, or do not have one. To understand trends and changes in distribution, we need high-quality data, and programmes such as International Census Plots can help.
The 2024 issue of Bird Census News is published and includes 3 new articles: using historical bird data in Denmark to examine century-wise changes; the impact of the Usutu virus on wild bird populations in Belgium; and status and conservation of the Cinereous vulture in Armenia. shorturl.at/j55X6
Grey Wagtailβs (Motacilla cinerea) index is stable across Europe. The species has an extensive range across diverse climatic conditions (Zalewska et al. 2025) and is expected to be less affected by climate change due to lower physiological constraints and greater tolerance for broader climatic range
Cyprus ornithologists have made a milestone in island-wide bird monitoring and cross-community conservation efforts. Funded by the EBCC Small Grant Fund, they monitored part of Cyprus north of the dividing line, ensuring that key species were fully represented in Cyprusβs EU reporting obligations.
PECBMS produces species trends for 170 species. Two of them, Cyprus Warbler (Curruca melanothorax) and Cyprus Wheatear (Oenanthe cypriaca) are endemic to Cyprus. Consequently, only 168 species are included in the European Wild Bird Index. Check the 2025 Update: pecbms.info/european-wil...
A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the trunk of a tree. A grey box to the left features the words: New study. Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird β the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. ww.bto.org/LSWBioacoustics. BTO logo is top left of the image. Image credit bottom left reads: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Β© Denja1 from Getty Images via Canva.com.
1/ A new study from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & BTO in @britishbirds.bsky.social looks at how passive acoustic monitoring is an effective way of surveying Lesser Spotted Woodpecker β‘οΈ www.bto.org/LSWBioacoust...
#bioacoustics #ornithology @simongillings.bsky.social @hosbirding.bsky.social
PECBMS data show that the abundance of the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) increases in Europe. Since the species first inhabited the warmest parts of Europe, its home range has shifted northward, as shown by change maps comparing the distributions in the EBBA1 and EBBA2: ebba2.info/maps/species...
The first breeding of Smew recorded in the 21st century in Ukraine! Until the middle of the 20th century, Smew (Mergus albellus) nested in Ukraine; however, after the destruction of suitable nesting habitats, it was classified as a migratory and wintering species. Summary: shorturl.at/H1bLq
Swiss Breeding Bird Monitoring dataset is now openly accessible! The team from @vogelwarte.bsky.social made the long-term dataset of the Swiss CBM program (βMonitoring HΓ€ufige BrutvΓΆgelβ, MHB) freely available under CC-BY 4.0 licence. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Invitation to intermediate-level workshop on Bayesian occupancy, N-mixture and population modelling. Workshop will be held from 22 to 26 June 2026 at the University of Debrecen, by Marc KΓ©ry and Michael Schaub from the Swiss Ornithological Institute. More: www.ebcc.info/intermediate...
EBCC wishes to thank all partner organisations, national coordinators, and numerous fieldworkers who collected data in the field for their generous work in 2025! May 2026 be a prosperous year, filled with exciting bird sightings and inspiring moments in nature for all of you!
A third complete list data collection challenge was organised in October by LIFE EBP Reinforcement partners across 13 countries in SE Europe. We are pleased to see participation growing, with more observers and records in complete lists, reflecting our collective progress! Report: shorturl.at/o1k1Z
The latest issue of the EBCC newsletter was published this week. Enjoy a thorough read about our latest activities here: shorturl.at/KP5XZ
EBBA2 species texts available on-line! 5 years after the publication of the EBBA2 book, the online map viewer now also shows species texts written by expert ornithologists to help interpret them. This was made possible due to an agreement between EBCC and Lynx Nature Books. Maps: ebba2.info/maps/
**New** pdf: The State of Europeβs Wild Birds 2025.
Latest update on trends in common & widespread birds in Europe from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) β¬οΈ @rspb.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @ebcc.info @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social π¦
pecbms.info/wp-content/u...
Hi Gerard, the EBCC has made a decision to freeze its Twitter accoount for the time being and not post regularly there (written in the description of the EBCC account). However, you made a valid point, and in this case, we reposted the PECBMS update there as well.
The Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme has published 2025 update on indices and trends! Unfortunately, it still shows an overall decline in common birds breeding in Europe, with the most pronounced decline among farmland species. Read more about the new update: pecbms.info/what-is-new-...
Long-tailed tit is definitely a joyful sight during winter. Their long-term trend in Europe is stable; however, there are some notable regional differences, with several European countries reporting declines in the past 20 years. Unfortunately, the precise reason for this so far remains unclear.
3 projects from Small Grant Fund need support! Continuation of long-term surveys in Romania, pioneering urban bird monitoring in Bosnia and Herzegovina, publishing Armeniaβs first Breeding Bird Atlas - each initiative yields knowledge for policy, planning, and conservation. More: shorturl.at/arYs2
With Sergi Herrando, a researcher at @creaf.cat and a chair of @ebcc.info,@vorisekp.bsky.social discuss atlases of bird distribution.From continental scale to the scale of cities of Barcelona and Prague we discover sometimes surprising changes in bird distribution and abundance. youtu.be/LhyxsHkGhmY
EuroBirdPortal data show that Meadow pipits were moving across most of Europe in recent weeks which coincides with their autumn migration towards south. Long-term monitoring PECBMS data show a moderate decline in breeding populations, which are largely assumed due to the agricultural intensification
New paper out about elevational shifts in European birds lead by @josephinecouet.bsky.social: "Solar Radiation Affects Bird Distributions but Not Elevational Shifts in European Mountains"
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
@emmamarjakangas.bsky.social @andreasantangeli.bsky.social @ebcc.info
Across most of Europe, a magnificent Common Crane migration is underway. After considerable declines from 17th till 19th century, due to loss of wetlands and hunting, the species started an amazing recovery in the 1960s, increasing in range and numbers. Follow their movements here: shorturl.at/nGoxG
How to develop the Forest Bird Index for the Nature Restoration Regulation? EBCC, in cooperation with @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social, has published a technical report to assist stakeholders at national and EU levels in creating one:
Albanian Ornithological Society team found a new colony of Collared Sand Martin at the Vjosa river (1840-2000 active breeding pairs).The overall breeding pair population estimation of the species in the Vjosa River National Park alone is now more than double the national estimate reported for EBBA2
Summary of first census of Collared Sand Martin in Serbia: out of 1061 sites identified at least 979 were visited, the largest recorded colony had 4300 active holes, more than 50 new colonies were found, however, 40 previosuly known colonies have dissapeared.Full report: shorturl.at/htM2U
