Results show a recent contraction in farmland bird distribution in Europe & highlight the critical importance of long‑term, standardised monitoring. Regular spatial updates could act as early‑warning system, supporting more responsive policy reporting and conservation. More:https://shorturl.at/i25DN
Example sp: Turtle dove – widespread losses across most regions; Common stonechat – slight overall increase, but strong declines in S Europe; Eurasian tree sparrow – overall loss, with limited gains in CE and N regions; Common linnet – regional contrasts, losses in S and E, gains in N and W
We looked at PECBMS data for 50 farmland bird species in 2 periods, 2013-2017 vs 2018-2022. We obtained reliable change estimates for 43 species: 📉 33 declined, 📈 9 increased, ➖ 1 remained stable. On average, these species lost 0.79% of their European distribution in just 5 years.
Our new study, led by Sergi Herrando (EBCC chair, @ICOcells) published in Conservation Biology, shows that it is possible to create frequent and regular maps showing where farmland birds are disappearing across Europe by using the data from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS).
For the third time in 40 years, volunteers surveyed Brussels' breeding birds. Species richness is similar to the last atlas, but population trends tell a different story: while many waterbirds thrive, some urban and open-habitat species declined and may vanish from the city altogether.
We were extremely lucky to have a physical EBCC Board meeting this spring at Parc Natural dels Ports, and are grateful to all the organisers and volunteers from @icornitologia.bsky.social who took such good care of us!
The Proceedings from the last EBCC conference, “Bird Numbers 2025", have now been published in the open-access journal Environmental and Experimental Biology. Overall, they include 8 contributions from the conference, providing readers with interesting insights. Link: journal.lu.lv/eeb/issue/vi...
Last week, the 75th EBCC Board meeting took place in Tortosa, Catalonia, organised by colleagues @icornitologia.bsky.social in the beautiful Els Ports Natural Park. 15 board members and observers, plus 3 online, had a chance to discuss many strategically important issues and enjoy a bit of birding!
In 2026, EBCC has decided to support 2 new grants within our Small Grant Fund!
The project Urban bird monitoring will be implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Armenia, it will result in the country’s first comprehensive breeding bird atlas. More:
The fresh Spring edition of the EBCC newsletter is out! Find out more about what is new in our core projects and from the wider EBCC network. From the grants we will support in 2026, new Bird Census News issues, and the State of the Birds in the Netherlands 2025. More: mailchi.mp/f360b6a3f817...
How did we do in 2025 on increasing participation and collecting complete lists in 13 countries of SE Europe @lifeprogramme.bsky.social?We noted a 22.4% increase in the number of complete lists across all 13 countries compared to 2023, and the highest number of observers.Read more: shorturl.at/m5eWi
The 2025 Bird Census News is out - entirely dedicated to acoustic monitoring. From the introduction to the EBCC Acoustic Monitoring Group, survey results on the role of acoustic monitoring in bird research, national case studies from Europe, and discussions on technical challenges: shorturl.at/jdTfy
How are Cinereous vultures doing in Armenia? The breeding population was followed from 2003 to 2019, with the latest count of 12 to 14 breeding pairs, mainly in the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. Although during this time, it presents a 110% increase, the threats remain. More: shorturl.at/wZS4h
The use of citizen science data (common bird monitoring and online portal) to investigate the impact of Usutu virus on bird populations in Belgium. In 31 of the 60 species, annual changes were >20% worse inside affected areas than outside (11 species were >50% worse). More:https://shorturl.at/teoFW
Colleagues from @Birdlife Denmark have compared historical 100-year-old data with the three Danish Atlas projects. Conclusions: breeding ranges of open land bird species have decreased drastically, whereas species connected to forest and scrub have gained range. More: www.ebcc.info/.../01/bcn-3...
Black-headed bunting, a species typical of SE Europe, is in decline. Many countries in this region are in the early stages of monitoring, or do not have one. To understand trends and changes in distribution, we need high-quality data, and programmes such as International Census Plots can help.
The 2024 issue of Bird Census News is published and includes 3 new articles: using historical bird data in Denmark to examine century-wise changes; the impact of the Usutu virus on wild bird populations in Belgium; and status and conservation of the Cinereous vulture in Armenia. shorturl.at/j55X6
Grey Wagtail’s (Motacilla cinerea) index is stable across Europe. The species has an extensive range across diverse climatic conditions (Zalewska et al. 2025) and is expected to be less affected by climate change due to lower physiological constraints and greater tolerance for broader climatic range
Cyprus ornithologists have made a milestone in island-wide bird monitoring and cross-community conservation efforts. Funded by the EBCC Small Grant Fund, they monitored part of Cyprus north of the dividing line, ensuring that key species were fully represented in Cyprus’s EU reporting obligations.
PECBMS produces species trends for 170 species. Two of them, Cyprus Warbler (Curruca melanothorax) and Cyprus Wheatear (Oenanthe cypriaca) are endemic to Cyprus. Consequently, only 168 species are included in the European Wild Bird Index. Check the 2025 Update: pecbms.info/european-wil...
A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the trunk of a tree. A grey box to the left features the words: New study. Bioacoustics as a tool for the detection and monitoring of a scarce woodland bird – the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. ww.bto.org/LSWBioacoustics. BTO logo is top left of the image. Image credit bottom left reads: Lesser Spotted Woodpecker © Denja1 from Getty Images via Canva.com.
1/ A new study from @lesserspotnet.bsky.social & BTO in @britishbirds.bsky.social looks at how passive acoustic monitoring is an effective way of surveying Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ➡️ www.bto.org/LSWBioacoust...
#bioacoustics #ornithology @simongillings.bsky.social @hosbirding.bsky.social
PECBMS data show that the abundance of the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) increases in Europe. Since the species first inhabited the warmest parts of Europe, its home range has shifted northward, as shown by change maps comparing the distributions in the EBBA1 and EBBA2: ebba2.info/maps/species...
The first breeding of Smew recorded in the 21st century in Ukraine! Until the middle of the 20th century, Smew (Mergus albellus) nested in Ukraine; however, after the destruction of suitable nesting habitats, it was classified as a migratory and wintering species. Summary: shorturl.at/H1bLq
Swiss Breeding Bird Monitoring dataset is now openly accessible! The team from @vogelwarte.bsky.social made the long-term dataset of the Swiss CBM program (“Monitoring Häufige Brutvögel”, MHB) freely available under CC-BY 4.0 licence. esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Invitation to intermediate-level workshop on Bayesian occupancy, N-mixture and population modelling. Workshop will be held from 22 to 26 June 2026 at the University of Debrecen, by Marc Kéry and Michael Schaub from the Swiss Ornithological Institute. More: www.ebcc.info/intermediate...
EBCC wishes to thank all partner organisations, national coordinators, and numerous fieldworkers who collected data in the field for their generous work in 2025! May 2026 be a prosperous year, filled with exciting bird sightings and inspiring moments in nature for all of you!
A third complete list data collection challenge was organised in October by LIFE EBP Reinforcement partners across 13 countries in SE Europe. We are pleased to see participation growing, with more observers and records in complete lists, reflecting our collective progress! Report: shorturl.at/o1k1Z
The latest issue of the EBCC newsletter was published this week. Enjoy a thorough read about our latest activities here: shorturl.at/KP5XZ
EBBA2 species texts available on-line! 5 years after the publication of the EBBA2 book, the online map viewer now also shows species texts written by expert ornithologists to help interpret them. This was made possible due to an agreement between EBCC and Lynx Nature Books. Maps: ebba2.info/maps/
**New** pdf: The State of Europe’s Wild Birds 2025.
Latest update on trends in common & widespread birds in Europe from the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme (PECBMS) ⬇️ @rspb.bsky.social @rspbscience.bsky.social @ebcc.info @birdlifeeurope.bsky.social 🐦
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