Welsh Journals

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ARTICLES THE STATUS OF BREEDING WILDFOWL IN WALES R.R. Lovegrove, R.A. Hume and I. McLean. summary Ornithological survey work in recent years in Wales has considerably increased, particularly that stimulated by the B.T.O. Atlas and, more recently, several specific R.S.P.B. research projects. This has supplemented the relatively poor existing coverage and allowed an assessment of numbers of breeding wildfowl to be made. Notes on each species are given, together with an estimate of breeding pairs. Only the Mallard can be described as numerous and most species have under 50 pairs; Gadwall, two sawbill species and Ruddy Duck have shown recent colonisation. None of the species breed in numbers of national importance and overall totals for Wales are surprisingly small for the majority of species. INTRODUCTION During the collection of data for evaluating the ornithological importance of inland waters in Wales (RSPB 1977, unpublished) it became apparent that it was realistic to attempt to define the breeding status of wildfowl in Wales. An acceptable degree of accuracy seems attainable for most species, despite the fact that large areas of Wales are still poorly covered ornithologically. The data can never be complete and precise but, notwithstanding constant updating, probably represents the best opportunity to obtain overall information on breeding wildfowl. The results are therefore summarised in this paper. For the collection of data we are deeply indebted to the county recorders and to numerous other ornithologists who have patiently responded to requests for help in supplementing the published information for their local area, and have also commented helpfully on drafts of this paper. The five-year survey (1968-72) by the British Trust for Ornithology which resulted in the Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland, provides an ideal base from which to work. Although not claiming to give detailed quantitative data, the Atlas does determine the distribution of breeding species by presence of breeding birds within 10km squares (hereafter referred to simply as 'squares') during this five year period and is an essential guide to the recent status of breeding birds. The present paper covers the period from the beginning of the Atlas project up to and including 1978. The status of each species