On 14 October the European Red List of Birds 2021 with regional extinction risk assessment for all 544 bird species in Europe. Representatives of the FACE, Federation of European Hunting Associations, including the President of the Working Group on Nature Directives Dr. Michele Sorrenti. The work was conducted in collaboration between Bird Life International and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and funded by the European Commission. FACE was pleased to see that around 80% of bird species have been rated as Least Concern [literally “least concern”, ed]. However, the fact that trends are observed down by 30% of cases for all bird species and in over 40% of waterfowl species is concerning. For huntable birds, the status is defined as worsened for species such as snipe, eider and pintail, and declining trends have been reported for other species, such as wigeon or tufted duck.
For different duck species, including the codon, the wigeon and the tufted duck, in the European Union there is a decline in breeding populations, while their number of winterers is increasing. We do not agree with the Red List's choice of defining trends and classifications only on the basis of breeding populations, since the most reliable monitoring system is the one on winterers, coordinated by Wetlands International, which in many cases provides opposite results to those present in this list, precisely on the species mentioned above. When asked about these discrepancies, the head of BirdLife International stated that in the case of contrasting trends between breeding and wintering populations, the most worrying trend was chosen.
This decision appears disconcerting, considering the quality of the data and the fact that there is no mention in the document regarding these differences, which it would have been correct to highlight. For example, while the reproductive numbers of the wigeon are decreasing in the European Union, with about 55 thousand pairs, the species remains abundant in the EU with about 1 million individuals who come to winter in this area. These data show that the EU is losing quality breeding habitat for waterfowl and the restoration of wetlands must be much higher on the political and administrative agenda. That is why FACE has actively called for better habitat conservation measures to be encouraged under the common agricultural policy, in particular on wetlands and wet grasslands. The report also highlights success stories for huntable species in some EU countries, such as the Tufted Duck, the Tufted Duck, and the Nordic Ptarmigan, all of which have dropped out of the threatened categories on the Red List and are now assessed as minimal risk.
Still others like ptarmigan, chukar and redwing they went from Near Threatened to Least Concern. Reports from EU Member States under the Birds Directive in 2013-2018 were the main dataset for the assessment, then complemented by similar data from BirdLife Partners and other experts to complete the Pan-European Red List. In this regard, the FACE analysis of the report of the Birds Directive 2013-2018 (FACE analysis of the Birds Directive reporting 2013-2018) provides detailed insights for huntable bird species. The European hunting community has been actively involved in the conservation of birds through the restoration of habitats, the promotion of good hunting governance and the contribution to scientific research (conservation of birds). The Red List sends a clear signal. The next steps are to investigate what is happening to identify conservation priorities (Source: Hunting Federation).