Black-throated diver national surveys in Scotland

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Description

Black-throated divers are birds of conservation concern due to the small UK population size, and large declines in the European population in the 20th century. This dataset contains records of black-throated divers from the national surveys conducted in 1985, 1994 and 2006. The 2006 survey details unique site visits, and individual birds may be reported in more than one record, recorded on different visits to the same site. The survey indicated a significant increase of 16% between 1994 and 2006. The 1985 and 1994 surveys in this dataset are breeding summaries of summering territories. The 1985 survey is incomplete, and is missing seven summering territories reported by Campbell and Talbot (British Birds, 1987). In addition to the data collected for the national surveys, this dataset also contains data collected on additional visits in the survey years. These data are either from sites that were not included in the surveys, or from sites visited outside the survey period. These data are clearly flagged in the dataset. The surveys were carried out by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) under the Statutory Conservation Agencies and RSPB Breeding Birds Scheme (SCARABBS).

Geographic Description

National surveys of the UK, with sightings in Scotland only. Locations are reported predominantly at 100m in 2006, and at 1km resolution in 1994 and 1985. While the Rare Breeding Bird Panel (RBBP) recommends that black-throated diver data are shown publicly at 100km resolution, this dataset is shown publicly at 10km as the data are published, and already in the public domain.

Data quality

These data have been gathered by trained field-workers and the data are of a high quality. <br /><br />

These data have been mapped and checked for sensitivities and typographical/geographical errors.

Methods

2006 survey: All freshwater lochs occupied by black-throated divers since 1994 were surveyed, in addition to a random selection of lochs occupied by divers prior to 1994, and other suitable lochs. Three core visits were made to the majority of the sites, once during each of the two-week periods between 1st May and 15th June. Sites were observed for a minimum of 2 hours, and any breeding evidence was recorded. <br /><br />

1994 and 1985 surveys: All freshwater lochs known to have been occupied by black-throated divers were surveyed, in addition to a random selection of other suitable lochs. Two core visits were made to the majority of the sites during the survey period.<br /><br />

In order to verify records and validate the dataset, the data have been mapped and thoroughly checked. Geographical checks have included comparing the distribution with that shown in published papers and ensuring that records with the same area name are located close to each other.

Citation

These data were collected under Statutory Conservation Agencies and RSPB Breeding Birds Scheme (SCARABBS). Please acknowledge SNH and the RSPB in any use of the data.

Rights

CC-BY

Digitised records