Kenny Kortland (Forestry & Land Scotland)

1. How SRMS data are used by SRMS
partners
Kenny Kortland | FLS Wildlife Ecologist |SRMG Member

2. Population monitoring – single-species surveys
• For species that are too scarce for generic monitoring schemes
• Periodic single species national surveys to determine their population status
• Data collected by raptor workers and collated by the SRMS is crucial for the surveys
• Records of site occupancy are used to determine the breeding distribution for
survey
• RSG workers are heavily involved in undertaking survey work for national surveys
(often >50% of effort)

3. 424 422 442
508
0
200
400
600
1982 1992 2003 2015
Breeding
pairs
Golden eagle
15% increases since 2003

4. Research – understanding causes of population change
• E.g. merlin
• RSPB uses data collected by raptor workers from several long-term regional studies
• Assess merlin occupancy and breeding performance with environmental variables
(habitat, land management, prey/predator abundance) to short-list the candidate
drivers of abundance and to inform research
• Ian Johnstone talking about this work at SOC conference on Sunday.

5. • To establish protected areas
• To contribute to designated site condition monitoring
• To identify areas where targeted conservation action should be directed by
NatureScot for species conservation (e.g. informing management decisions and
management planning on designated sites)
• To inform responses to development control casework
• To update sensitivity maps for developments (e.g. onshore wind farms)
• To plan national surveys for raptors (e.g. as part of the SCARABBS programme)

6. • To understand the causes of population change and limitation
• To support the development and implementation of policy and action for raptors
• For national reporting on Annex 1 species (e.g. as required under Article 12 of the
EU Birds Directive and the Convention on Migratory Species’ Memorandum of
Understanding on the conservation of migratory raptors).
• For reporting on monitoring activity (that may disturb birds listed on Schedule 1 of
the Wildlife & Countryside Act) undertaken under license.

7. • Is an independent body supported by JNCC, RSPB and BTO
• Has collated data on rare breeding birds in the UK since 1973
• Maintains archive of circa 200,000 breeding records covering 180 species
• Main data flows are via county bird recorders, supplemented by RSPB and
BTO datasets, Schedule 1 licence returns and Raptor Study Group data

8. • SRMS provides the bulk of RBBP raptor data for Scotland
• Access to SRMS data enables RBBP to identify additional records from
other sources.
• Enable trends to be produced for some species and informs estimates
• RBBP then provides this information for conservation and research
purposes e.g., assessing the status of species (e.g. Birds of Conservation
Concern), indicators, site designation and monitoring.

10. © Dave Pierce

13. • 470,000 ha of woodland
• 3.2 million cubic metres of timber annually
• Around 40% of the national timber harvest
• SRMS data + expert advice from RSG members
• Crucial to reconcile raptors with forest management

15. Thank you