Redshank Tringa totanus
Breeding distribution change
Virtually extinct as nester in Wiltshire, now scarce passage migrant from elsewhere in Britain/iceland
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Contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right 2013
Atlas species lists
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More Redshank maps
- Breeding distribution 1995–2000
- Summer abundance 1995–2000
- Winter distribution 1995–2000
- Winter abundance 1995–2000
- Breeding distribution 2007–2012
- Summer abundance 2007–2012
- Winter distribution 2007–2012
- Winter abundance 2007–2012
- Breeding distribution change
- Summer abundance change
- Winter distribution change
- Winter abundance change
More maps for this atlas
Map explanation
This map shows where changes occurred in the breeding season distribution of the species in Wiltshire between 1995-2000 and 2007-2012, as revealed by the fieldwork for Birds of Wiltshire (Wiltshire Ornithological Society 2007) and the shared fieldwork for Bird Atlas 2007-2011 (BTO 2013) and for Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2007-2012.
Gains and improvements
Status
Nos tetrads
Absent to present
11
1%
Present to breeding
3
<1%
Absent to breeding
1
<1%
No change
Status
Nos tetrads
Present in both
2
<1%
Breeding in both
1
<1%
Losses and declines
Status
Nos tetrads
Present to absent
7
1%
Breeding to present
0
0%
Breeding to absent
4
<1%
Common Redshanks have a wide distribution across Europe and Asia, breeding in a variety of marshy habitats from Iceland and Iberia to China. In autumn they move to winter along the coasts and certain major river valleys of western Europe, the Mediterranean area and southern Asia.
The British breeding population is partially migratory, moving in winter to coasts mainly within Great Britain but some also to the coasts of Ireland and western France. Many Icelandic Redshanks also winter on British coasts. Bird Atlas 2007-2011 revealed a 43% contraction in the Common Redshank’s British breeding range since the publication of the 1968-72 Breeding Atlas, with a corresponding reduction in relative abundance. These reductions are believed to result from loss of habitat due to agricultural intensification and drainage of wetlands.
In Wiltshire during the first half of the 19th century the species was regarded as a scarce breeder, but from about 1865 numbers began to increase until by the 1930s breeding was being reported form most of the river valleys in the county. But then, in line with what was happening nationally, numbers started to fall again until they have once more all but disappeared from the county as breeding birds. Birds of Wiltshire recorded them breeding in only five tetrads, one at the Cotswold Water Park (CWP), one on the Kennet and Avon Canal, two on the River Bourne and one on the River Avon south of Salisbury. In WTA2 there are no confirmed breeding records, though there are still five tetrads, all clustered around the CWP, where they probably bred.
References
The following references are used throughout these species accounts, in the abbreviated form given in quotation marks:
“1968-72 Breeding Atlas” – Sharrack, J.T.R. 1976: The Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1981-84 Winter Atlas” – Lack, P.C. 1986: The Atlas of Wintering Birds in Britain and Ireland. T. & A. Poyser
“1988-91 Breeding Atlas” – Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993: The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland 1988-91. T. & A. Poyser
“Birds of Wiltshire” – Ferguson-Lees, I.J. et al. 2007 : Birds of Wiltshire, published by the tetrad atlas group of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society after mapping fieldwork 1995-2000. Wiltshire Ornithological Society.
“Bird Atlas 2007-2011” – Balmer, D.E., Gillings, S., Caffrey, B.J., Swann, R.L., Downie, I.S. and Fuller, R.J. 2013: Bird Atlas 2007-2011: the Breeding and Wintering Birds of Britain and Ireland
“WTA2” – ("Wiltshire Tetrad Atlas 2 ") the present electronic publication, bringing together the Wiltshire data from “Birds of Wiltshire” and “Bird Atlas 2007-11”, together with data from further fieldwork carried out in 2011 and 2012.
"Hobby" - the annual bird report of the Wiltshire Ornithological Society.