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Cornish Red Data (2009)

The descriptive text, below the map, is from the Cornish Red Data Book (2009). The map on this web page depicts the organisms distribution and shows the records made pre-2000 and those made since.

Limosa limosa - Black-tailed Godwit



Range & Status

Palearctic; in Britain and Ireland it maintains a tenuous breeding foothold after initial colonisation of eastern England and north Scotland in early 1950s, some 50 pairs in 1991; winter numbers slowly increasing (15,860 in the late 90s) following decrease between mid 1960s and mid 1970s.

Regional Distribution

Cornwall: local winter visitor and passage migrant, with peak 1992 count of 275 from nine sites (compare with 700 in mid 1960s). The Cornish winter birds did not revive during the 1980s, as they did further east in England, following the national decrease from mid 1960s; however, there are signs of a slight improvement since 1993. The former stronghold of the Tamar holds less than 100 birds (500+ in 1966) and the Truro River has become Cornwall' s best site in recent years (86 in 1992); none of these sites rank as Nationally Important. Isles of Scilly: small numbers on passage.

Habitat & Ecology

Feeds in small flocks over relatively sheltered tidal flats, in the middle to upper reaches of estuaries. Cornish birds are of the Icelandic subspecies islandica , but at least some passage birds are of the nominate Continental form.

Threats

Vulnerable to disturbance of mudflats - this was shown well by complete desertion of St. John' s Lake during 1970s, coinciding with the popularity of feeding areas with bait-diggers, and the recent absence at nearby Millbrook for two winters followed the disruption of the mud by pipe-laying machinery. The planned development at the current main site of Truro River is worrying.

Conservation

The main estuary sites, except Millbrook, are SSSI. Protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 and Annexe 11/2 of the European Union Conservation of Wild Birds Directive. Listed (long list) as a globally threatened/declining species (BSGR, 1995).

Source:

I.J. Bennallick, S. Board, C.N. French, P.A. Gainey, C. Neil, R. Parslow, A. Spalding and P.E. Tompsett. eds. 2009. Red Data Book for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. 2nd Edition.Croceago Press.

The Cornish Red Data Book Project was led by the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Federation for Biological Recorders (CISFBR). The full text and species accounts (minus the maps) are available on the CISFBR website.