– BTO reviews 30 years of MHWESG Shelduck data

Surveys of summer Shelduck populations were one of the first of a series of long running environmental projects to be funded by the MHWESG back in the early 1990s. There are numerous surveys of wintering populations of Shelduck around the UK, but the MHWESG’s survey of the summer breeding population is ‘unique to Wales’, so say the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) who were asked by the MHWESG to review 30 years of Shelduck data.

A throw-away comment from Jack Donovan, the fondly remembered county bird recorder for Pembrokeshire in the early 90s, first planted the seed of an idea to survey summer breeding Shelduck in the Milford Haven Waterway. The suggestion was not wasted on Jane Hodges, the ecologist for the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority at the time and the first survey of many was soon carried out. Jane has continued to survey breeding Shelduck every year in the estuary over the last 30 years.

The BTO recommended minor amendments to the survey method but overall they were of the opinion that the dataset was of sufficient quality to produce robust trends in the summer Shelduck populations. 

Paul Howells (Dragon LNG Ltd and MHWESG chair) commented that “the study of summer Shelduck in the estuary has created a lengthy dataset that will, if continued, allow future researchers to assess and interpret the impact of environmental change in the estuary. We are benefiting now from the foresight that members of the MHWESG had nearly 3 decades ago to understand the relevance of long-term monitoring.”