European Bird Census Council

This report summarises main activities and achievements since August 2007 to April 2008. The 2007 update of indices and indicators was produced and published on EBCC website and in the report State of Europe’s Common Birds 2007. The indicators were provided to Eurostat for Structural Indicators and Sustainable Development Indicators. New data have been collated and updated outputs are expected in May 2008. PECBMS network was maintained and partners kept informed via web site, personal meetings and visits, advice and assistance provided as well. Communication included also presentations at conferences and contributions to scientific papers.

A landmark advance in our understanding of the potential impacts of human-induced climate change on wildlife was launched on 15 January 2008. A Climatic Atlas of European Breeding Birds - which maps potential changes in the distribution of all of the continent's regularly occurring nesting birds based on the EBCC’s atlas of European breeding birds - suggests that we need urgent action to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and redouble our efforts for nature conservation, if we are to avoid potentially calamitous impacts on birds.

A new pan-European report The State of Europe’s Common Birds 2007, was published in November 2007.

This report summarises main activities and achievements from January 2007 to August 2007. Production and publication of European species trends and indicators was the main task in the first half of 2007. We successfully updated and improved PECBMS’ main output and with improved capacity, new software and dedicated network of national contacts we believe information on population trends of common bird species will be updated regularly on annual basis.

Several attempts to summarise information on bird surveys in Europe have been made in last few decades, the last one with focus on large-scale breeding population schemes by Vorisek & Marchant (2003). Updates of these surveys of surveys proofed to be very useful tool for assessment of current status of bird monitoring, identification gaps and areas for further development. Overview of bird monitoring schemes is also a useful source of information for those who seek to establish a new scheme, improve a current one or just to get more information on bird monitoring in consice form.
Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) found information from such a review extremely useful and it was decided to update information from the previous review and make the information available. Thus, a new review was completed and results are presented in this paper.

Brussels, 7 June 2007:
New research has shown that Europe’s farmland birds have declined by almost 50% in the past 25 years – a trend caused by EU-wide agricultural intensification being driven by a policy in need of urgent reform.