The Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus is a threatened species throughout its worldwide range. The Iberian Peninsula holds 50% of its global population, which has declined by 25% over the last 20 years. Despite this negative global trend, an increase in the number of individuals over the last 25 years has been observed in Catalonia, where it has colonised areas in which it was previously unknown. In this study, we describe the demographic evolution of an increasing population of Egyptian Vultures in central and eastern Catalonia and we apply population models and maximum likelihood procedures to investigate both the main demographic processes driving the observed trends and the viability of the population. The number of pairs in this region increased from one to 22 in the period 1988–2012. The best-supported models suggest that adult survival in this population may be higher than in other Iberian populations and that furthermore, there is a continuous influx of immigrants. Based on the most likely scenarios, Population Viability Analysis predicts that the population will continue to increase. Sensitivity analysis indicates that the adult survival rate has the greatest influence on population dynamics so conservation efforts will be more effective if concentrated on improving this rate.

The distribution and abundance of Spanish Imperial Eagle Aquila adalberti populations between 1974 and 2004 were determined using information from national censuses. Its breeding area occupies the south-western quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and is composed of 13 nuclei and 5 subpopulations. Since 1974, population levels in all nuclei, except the one in Doñana, have expanded. The non-breeding dispersion area, according to sightings of juvenile and immature individuals in quadrants of 10 x 10 km, coincided with that of the breeding area. Bibliographical information showed that halfway through the 19th century the Spanish Imperial Eagle was considered abundant, at least locally; and most cited breeding areas were in relatively human-occupied plains. Towards the end of the 19th century the population became scarce; remaining so for most of the 20th century, with remote mountain ranges being the most cited breeding habitats. The comparison between the data from the first census, in 1974, that located 38 territorial pairs, and the 2004 census that located 198 pairs, shows that: 1) percentages of pairs in plains have increased, while those in mountains have decreased; 2) the trophic quality of the habitat, based on rabbit abundance, has decreased, and 3) numbers of nests in both protected areas and on private ground have increased significantly. The type of land ownership did not seem to affect breeding performance. Populations have increased more outside protected areas than within, despite the availability of potential habitat. In the past century, legal protection and attitude changes towards this eagle seem to have been influential in preventing its extinction. At present, habitat management seems also to be an important factor in its continuing recovery.

Six out of seven vulture species whose global ranges lie largely or wholly within Africa are listed as globally threatened. Since their current distributions individually span up to 39 range states there is a pressing need to develop robust, standardised methods that provide a clear measure of range-wide changes in abundance. Yet, survey methods currently used tend to yield either of two measures: estimates of breeding density, derived mainly from nest counts; or linear encounter rates, derived from road surveys. Here, we present the results of a six-year survey of six vulture species in Uganda, in which we used road counts, in combination with Distance sampling, to determine both encounter rates and densities within protected areas (PAs), and in predominantly pastoral and agricultural areas. In combination, five scavenging species were detected 4–6 times more frequently in PAs than elsewhere, and two species, White-backed Vulture Gyps africanus and Lappet-faced Vulture Torgus tracheliotus, were recorded only within PAs. We estimate that PAs held c.1,300–3,900 individuals of the five scavenging species combined, including c.1,250–2,900 individuals of two Gyps species. We also present national population estimates for two species: White-backed Vulture (c.1,000–2,600 birds) and Lappet-faced Vulture (c.160–500 birds). Although sightings were assigned to only three broad distance bands, Distance sampling provided estimates with a level of precision similar to that achieved for linear encounter rates, but as density estimates; a form more readily comparable with results obtained from other survey types.

The Japanese subspecies of Hodgson's Hawk-eagle, Spizaetus nipalensis orientalis, is considered threatened and has been designated as Endangered by the Japanese government. We determined the complete mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence of this species and designed a primer set to amplify a highly variable region of mtDNA, part of the control region (CR), based on this complete sequence. Using the primers, we amplified the CR and then determined the haplotypes of 178 samples collected at different sites in Japan. A nested cladistic analysis indicated that gene flow within some clades was restricted. The inference key implied that isolation by distance had caused the restriction of gene flow. Moreover, the ranges of the clades in which restricted gene flow was detected overlapped with the ranges of other clades. These results suggest that there is no fragmental population of Hodgson's Hawk-eagle in Japan and that this species has dispersed within short distances, at least in some lineages. Genetic diversity was high in comparison with other species. Therefore, at least in terms of genetic diversity, the Japanese population of Hodgson's Hawk-eagle is probably not in a critical situation.

Approximately 75% of the East Asian Flyway Tundra Swan Cygnus columbianus bewickii population winters in the Yangtze River floodplain, China. Historically the species was more widely distributed throughout the floodplain but now most of the population is confined to five wetlands in Anhui Province and to Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province, where the majority (up to 113,000 birds) occur. Within-winter counts suggest that swans congregate at Poyang Lake before dispersing to other sites later in the winter. Counts show large between-year fluctuations, but suggest declines at Shengjin and Fengsha Lakes (both in Anhui) during the last five years. Declines at Shengjin Lake are likely due to decreases in submerged vegetation (particularly tuber-producing Vallisneria, a major food item) perhaps linked to eutrophication. Range contractions throughout the floodplain may also be linked to reductions in submerged vegetation coverage elsewhere. Changes in water quality and lake hydrology post-Three Gorges Dam may have adversely affected submerged vegetation productivity. Key information needs for the effective implementation of conservation measures for Tundra Swans include: (1) annual surveys of all major wintering sites throughout each winter to establish the importance of different sites during the non-breeding period; (2) more information on swan diets at important sites; and (3) an assessment of adverse effects of water quality and lake water levels post-Three Gorges Dam on submerged vegetation productivity at Poyang Lake and other important sites.

Many recently designated or expanded nature reserves in China were forest farms that ceased operations in the aftermath of the catastrophic Yangtze River floods of 1998. Although the vegetation in many of these areas has been altered significantly during forestry operations, there is now an opportunity to reduce, or even reverse, habitat loss for wildlife species that inhabit these forests. One such species is the globally threatened Reeves's Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii that is endemic to the forested mountains of central and south-west China. From April 2000 to August 2003, the habitat use by 14 male Reeves's Pheasants was studied by radio-tracking at Dongzhai National Nature Reserve in the Dabie Mountains, central China. Conifer-broadleaf mixed forest was used preferentially in all seasons at the study area scale, as were mature fir plantations and shrubby vegetation. Moreover, young fir plantations were used preferentially during the breeding season at the scale of the home range. Surveys recorded the pheasant in 13 other protected areas in the Dabie Mountains, and indicated that broadly similar habitat types were available in all of them. Furthermore, Reeves's Pheasant were found in habitats similar to those used preferentially at Dongzhai National Nature Reserve. It seems likely that a mosaic of habitats is crucial to meet the various requirements of male Reeves's Pheasants throughout the year and management should therefore concentrate on maintaining this mosaic. It is now important to identify the habitats that produce the most young pheasants so that nesting and brood-rearing habitats can be clearly identified. Further studies on the habitat mosaic would be useful, both at a local scale and also at a larger, landscape scale.

Correlative species distribution models (SDMs) are increasingly widespread in the conservation literature. They can be used for a variety of purposes, including addressing practical conservation tasks on the basis of a spatially explicit assessment of environmental suitability for target taxa, which in turn allows for a transparent evaluation of needs and opportunities. Here we used the maximum entropy method (by means of the software MaxEnt) to model distribution of the rare Boreal Owl Aegolius funereus and the Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius, which excavates the nest-holes used by the owl for breeding. We believe that monitoring surveys for Boreal Owl should consider areas suitable for both species as priority sites, whereas the provision of nest-boxes for the owl may be particularly desirable in habitat patches that are suitable for that species but not for the keystone species whose nest-holes represent the usual nest site for the owl. Finally, areas suitable for both species can represent priority areas for the conservation of forest birds in the Alps, as both species have been reported as umbrella and/or keystone species. Our example provides a possible framework to model management and monitoring opportunities in other species or species pairs, but such an approach can be used to infer the need for particular management options when both limiting factors and species distribution can be spatially modelled, and also to model the areas where different target species are more likely to overlap and interact. The use of distribution models as tools to address practical conservation tasks should also be encouraged in order to accomplish practical tasks according to sound knowledge and transparent methods.

The distribution and abundance patterns of Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus and Great Hornbill Buceros bicornis were studied in one undisturbed and one heavily altered rainforest landscape in the southern Western Ghats, India. The Agasthyamalai hills (Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, KMTR) contained over 400 km2 of continuous rainforest, whereas the Anamalai hills (now Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary, IGWS) contained fragments of rainforest in a matrix of tea and coffee plantations. A comparison of point-count and line transect census techniques for Malabar Grey Hornbill at one site indicated much higher density estimates in point-counts (118.4/km2) than in line transects (51.5/km2), probably due to cumulative count over time in the former technique. Although line transects appeared more suitable for long-term monitoring of hornbill populations, point-counts may be useful for large-scale surveys, especially where forests are fragmented and terrain is unsuitable for line transects. A standard fixed radius point-count method was used to sample different altitude zones (600–1,500 m) in the undisturbed site (342 point-counts) and fragments ranging in size from 0.5 to 2,500 ha in the Anamalais (389 point-counts). In the fragmented landscape, Malabar Grey Hornbill was found in higher altitudes than in KMTR, extending to nearly all the disturbed fragments at mid-elevations (1,000–1,200 m). Great Hornbill persisted in the fragmented landscape using all three large fragments (> 200 ha). It was also recorded in four of five medium-sized fragments (25–200 ha) and one of five small fragments (< 25 ha), which was adjacent to shade coffee plantations. Abundance of Malabar Grey Hornbill declined with altitude and increased with food-tree species richness. Great Hornbill abundance increased with food-tree species richness, suggesting that maintenance of high diversity of hornbill food species in fragments is important for their persistence. It is likely that the smaller and less specialized Malabar Grey Hornbill will survive in disturbed and fragmented forest landscapes, while Great Hornbill is more vulnerable to habitat alteration. Protection and restoration of rainforest fragments and food-tree resources, besides protection of existing large fragments, will aid the conservation of hornbills in the region.

Understanding how avian populations are structured spatially and temporally is fundamental to their effective conservation. Protecting migratory species in one jurisdiction or period of the annual cycle may be ineffective if they periodically move to areas where they are not protected or are exposed to factors that limit populations or cause their decline. Unfortunately, for most species, our understanding of connectivity between breeding, wintering or stopover sites during the annual cycle are poorly understood and there is an urgent need to define such connections in order to achieve more effective conservation. This paper provides an overview of the methods used to mark individuals in order to track their movements. Passive exogenous markers such as numbered rings or bands are typically ineffective for most avian species. Active exogenous markers such as satellite tags have provided significant breakthroughs but are still prohibitive financially and still cannot be applied to species under 200g. Endogenous markers such as DNA markers, trace elements and stable isotopes show significant promise as a means of moving forward the field of animal tracking. The advantage of these endogenous approaches is that they depend only on sampling a population once and so are not biased by limitations of mark-recapture methods. Nonetheless, all methods have disadvantages and the path ahead must consider multiple approaches to tracking avian populations.

The Hawaiian honeycreepers are thought to be limited primarily to middle- and high-altitude wet forests due to anthropogenic factors at lower altitudes, especially introduced mosquitotransmitted avian malaria. However, recent research has demonstrated that at least one native species, the Hawai'i 'Amakihi (Hemignathus virens virens), is common in areas of active malaria transmission. We examined the current distribution and abundance of native and exotic forest birds within approximately 640 km2 of low-altitude (0–326 m) habitat on south-eastern Hawai'i Island, using roadside variable circular plot (VCP) at 174 stations along eight survey transects. We also re-surveyed 90 stations near sea level that were last surveyed in 1994–1995. Overall, introduced species were more abundant than natives; 11 exotic species made up 87% of the total individuals detected. The most common exotic passerines were Japanese White-eye (Zosterops japonicus), House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) and Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Two native species, Hawai'i 'Amakihi and 'Apapane (Himatione sanguina), comprised 13% of the bird community at low altitudes. Hawai'i 'Amakihi were the most common and widespread native species, being found at 47% of stations at a density of 4.98 birds/ha (95% CI 3.52–7.03). 'Amakihi were significantly associated with 'ohi'a (Metrosideros polymorpha)-dominated forest. 'Apapane were more locally distributed, being found at only 10% of stations. Re-surveys of 1994–1995 transects demonstrated a significant increase in 'Amakihi abundance over the past decade. This work demonstrates a widespread recovery of Hawai'i 'Amakihi at low altitude in southeastern Hawai'i. The changing composition of the forest bird community at low-altitudes in Hawai'i has important implications for the dynamics of avian malaria in low-altitude Hawai'i, and for conservation of Hawai'i's lowland forests.

Solitary Tinamou Tinamus solitarius is a threatened Brazilian bird, and very little is known about its ecology and behaviour. In this study we aimed to verify the use of habitats in different stages of plant succession and the circadian activity pattern of the species. The study was conducted in Santa Catarina state (27º43’S, 48º49’W). Six camera traps were used to record the species in three areas of different successional stages during a 12-month period. Traps remained at each sample site for two months, after which they were moved to a new site, a minimum distance of 100 m apart. A total of 76 independent records of Solitary Tinamou were obtained, and its habitat use was found to be different within the three successional stages (P = 0.02). The majority of 54 independent records were obtained in the secondary forest; not one photo of the species was taken in the most degraded area. Solitary Tinamou exhibited a crepuscular pattern of activity, with most records (n = 38) taken at 07h00 and 06h00, and it appears to be sensitive to forest clearance.

The digestive tract of many animals is morphologically flexible and can adjust over time to make the most efficient use of the foods available. Differences between captive and wild diets often cause large differences in the gut morphology of captive and wild birds. This is potentially an issue when captive-bred birds are used to establish or supplement populations in the wild, such as in the Brown Teal Anas chlorotis, an endangered duck endemic to New Zealand. We compared the size and mass of the digestive organs (proventriculus, gizzard, small intestine, caeca, rectum and liver) of 57 wild, eight captive and four captive-bred released Brown Teal. Captive Brown Teal had much shorter and lighter small intestines and caeca than wild Brown Teal. These differences could reduce the ability of captive-bred teal to efficiently digest a wild diet in the weeks following release, and are likely to contribute to the number of released teal found dead in extremely poor nutritional condition. Increased fibre and diversity in the captive diet together with supplementary feeding post-release are recommended to improve the survival of captive-bred Brown Teal released to the wild.

Seabirds are one of the most threatened avian taxa and are hence a high conservation priority. Managing seabirds is challenging, requiring conservation actions at sea (e.g. Marine Protected Areas - MPAs) and on land (e.g. protection of breeding sites). Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) have been successfully used to identify sites of global importance for the conservation of bird populations, including breeding seabirds. The challenge of identifying suitable IBAs for tropical seabirds is exacerbated by high levels of dispersal, aseasonal and asynchronous breeding. The western Indian Ocean supports ~19 million breeding seabirds of 30 species, making it one of the most significant tropical seabird assemblages in the world. Within this is the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), encompassing 55 islands of the Chagos Archipelago, which supports 18 species of breeding seabird and one of the world’s largest no-take MPAs. Between January and March in 1975 and 1996, eight and 45 islands respectively were surveyed for seabirds and the data used to designate 10 islands as IBAs. A further two were proposed following an expedition to 26 islands in February/March 2006. Due to the historic and restricted temporal and spatial nature of these surveys, the current IBA recommendations may not accurately represent the archipelago’s present seabird status and distribution. To update estimates of the BIOT breeding seabird assemblage and reassess the current IBA recommendations, we used seabird census data collected in every month except September from every island, gathered during 2008–2018. The maximum number of breeding seabirds for a nominal year was 281,596 pairs of 18 species, with three species making up 96%: Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus - 70%, Lesser Noddy Anous tenuirostris - 18% and Red-footed Booby Sula sula - 8%. Phenology was a complex species-specific mix of synchronous and asynchronous breeding, as well as seasonal and aseasonal breeding. Nine of the 10 designated IBAs and the two proposed IBAs qualified for IBA status based on breeding seabirds. However, not every IBA qualified each year because Sooty Terns periodically abandoned breeding islands and Tropical Shearwater Puffinus bailloni breeding numbers dropped below IBA qualifying criteria in some years. Further, one survey per year does not always capture the periodic breeding of some tropical seabirds. We propose therefore, that IBAs in BIOT are better designated at the island cluster level rather than by specific island and require two surveys six months apart per year. This work highlights the merits of long-term, systematic, versus incidental surveys for breeding tropical seabirds and the subsequent associated designation of IBAs.

Estimating population abundances and patterns of change over time are important in both ecology and conservation. Trend assessment typically entails fitting a regression to a time series of abundances to estimate population trajectory. However, changes in abundance estimates from year-to-year across time are due to both true variation in population size (process variation) and variation due to imperfect sampling and model fit. State-space models are a relatively new method that can be used to partition the error components and quantify trends based only on process variation. We compare a state-space modelling approach with a more traditional linear regression approach to assess trends in uncorrected raw counts and detection-corrected abundance estimates of forest birds at Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, Hawai‘i. Most species demonstrated similar trends using either method. In general, evidence for trends using state-space models was less strong than for linear regression, as measured by estimates of precision. However, while the state-space models may sacrifice precision, the expectation is that these estimates provide a better representation of the real world biological processes of interest because they are partitioning process variation (environmental and demographic variation) and observation variation (sampling and model variation). The state-space approach also provides annual estimates of abundance which can be used by managers to set conservation strategies, and can be linked to factors that vary by year, such as climate, to better understand processes that drive population trends.

Habitat selection of endangered species in peripheral populations must be considered when designing effective conservation plans, as these populations tend to occupy atypical habitats where species-environment relationships are not well understood. We examined patterns of habitat use in peripheral populations of the endangered Dupont’s Lark Chersophilus duplonti using a multi-scale approach and assessed the spatiotemporal transferability of these models to test for their generality. Our results show that at microhabitat (circles of 50-m diameter used by the species versus random points) and macrohabitat (occupied/unoccupied squares of 1 ha) scales the species selected flat and non-forested areas, but at the microhabitat scale the cover of small shrubs was also important. Models developed at patch scale (occupied /unoccupied sites) identified only site size as an important predictor of species occurrence. Habitat models transferred successfully among sites and years, which suggests that these models and our recommendations may be extrapolated over a larger geographic area. A multi-scale approach was used for identifying conservation requirements at different spatial scales. At the patch scale our models confirm it is a priority to maintain or enlarge the extent of habitat patches to ensure the viability of the studied metapopulation. At the macrohabitat scale our results suggest that reducing tree density in low slope areas would be the most effective management action. At the microhabitat scale, encouraging the presence of small and medium-sized shrubs, by clearing certain scrubs (e.g. large brooms Genista spp. and rosemary Rosmarinus officinalis) or promoting traditional low-level extensive grazing, should increase the availability of high-quality habitats for the species, and thus the number of potential territories within a patch. These recommendations largely coincide with the ones given for core populations at specific scales elsewhere.

Deforestation, fragmentation and habitat disturbance may alter the relationship between pathogens and hosts. We tested, apparently for the first time, whether habitat fragmentation and degree of dependence on forests affect the prevalence of avian blood parasites. We estimated the prevalence of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Trypanosoma through the inspection of 925 blood smears from 109 species captured in six pairs of small (< 30 ha) and large (> 1,000 ha) Brazilian Atlantic Forest fragments. Prevalence of the three types of parasites did not differ between small and large forest patches. Forest-independent birds were usually more infected with Plasmodium and Haemoproteus than other birds, but forest-dependent birds were more infected with Trypanosoma. Parasite richness on birds was not affected by patch size.

Despite the global significance of the Leach’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous colony on Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, the estimate of 3.36 million breeding pairs reported for 1984 by Sklepkovych and Montevecchi stands as the single published population estimate for the world’s largest colony. This study increases knowledge of this population by analysing data from additional independent surveys conducted in 1984 and 1985, and by updating the population status with a survey conducted in 2013. Population estimates were derived by extrapolating occupied burrow densities to the estimated occupied area of four main habitat types (heath, forest, grass and fern), which in turn were based on proportions of habitats observed in plots (1984 and 1985) or by using a Geographic Information System approach (2013). Based on these surveys, the Leach’s Storm-petrel breeding population size on Baccalieu Island was estimated at 5.12 ± 0.73 (SE) and 4.60 ± 0.42 (SE) million pairs in 1984 and 1985 respectively, representing estimates 37–51% greater than the original 1984 survey. While discrepancies among these estimates were largely driven by the way occupied areas were estimated, our study confirms that Baccalieu Island hosts the largest Leach’s Storm-petrel colony in the world. Results from the 2013 survey estimate the current breeding Leach’s Storm-petrel population at 1.95 ± 0.14 (SE) million pairs, representing a 42% decline over 29 years (-1.4% per year), relative to the original published estimate of 3.36 ± 0.12 (SE) million pairs. The most prominent change has occurred in the density of storm-petrel burrows found in forest habitat which dropped by 70% despite forest remaining the second most abundant habitat available to nesting storm-petrels on Baccalieu Island. The cause of this decline remains unknown and is likely multi-faceted. Future research focusing on demographic studies is required to understand what is driving the population decline of this internationally important colony.

A molecular phylogeny of the Spizaetus cirrhatus complex is presented in this study, based on two sections of the mitochondrial genome: partial sequences of the cytochrome b gene and of the control region (CR). The topologies derived from the two sequences are in agreement. Within S. cirrhatus distances are rather low (0–1.5% in cytochrome b). Among the cirrhatus subspecies the island taxa floris, vanheurni and andamanensis form distinct haplogroups in the CR trees, conforming to the earlier subspecific divisions which were based on morphological characters. On the other hand, the most widespread subspecies, limnaeetus, does not represent a monophyletic group in the gene trees and its haplogroups do not cluster according to geographic affinities. An unambiguous resolution of relationships among haplotypes and haplogroups, respectively, was not achieved, suggesting a more recent radiation of this group of hawk-eagles in the course of the last ice ages. Concerning the outgroup taxa Spizaetus philippensis and Spizaetus lanceolatus, our data indicate a clear genetic distinction between the two subspecies S. p. philippensis and S. p. pinskeri, suggesting that they should be treated as distinct species. Yet the phylogenetic relationships of the three outgroup taxa with respect to S. cirrhatus are ambiguous in our trees. The taxonomic consequences of applying different species concepts (BSC, PSC) are discussed. The species concept chosen would result in different conservation strategies.

Parrot poaching and the subsequent illegal trade in the Neotropics are exacerbating the decline in parrot populations. Little is known, however, on where, when and how parrots are poached. The goals of this study were to identify the spatio-temporal patterns of parrot poaching in order to identify ways in which poaching could be reduced, using parrot data (9,013 individuals from 27 species) collected daily in a major illicit wildlife market in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, in 2005. Parrot data identified the individuals by species, age, date of arrival at market, and the poaching location. Parrot poaching strongly varied seasonally, with differences among municipalities, species, and age classes. While almost 90% of parrots were poached within a 234 km radius of the market, 84% originated from seven municipalities in which two of them accounted for 56% alone. With regard to species, six of the 27 market species accounted for nearly 90% of total individuals. A disproportionate share of parrots (47%) arrived between July and September. Poaching of adults and juveniles peaked however at different times of the year, offering valuable information for species where very little is known about their breeding phenology. Contrary to the idea that most parrot trade comes from nest poaching, most poached parrots (c.70%) were adults, which outnumbered juveniles in 21 out of the 26 native species. Therefore, the detrimental effects of parrot poaching are higher than simple trade numbers would suggest when considering that harvesting of adults has a stronger impact on the population viability and risk of extinction of long-lived species. Based on the findings, we recommend the allocation of police and conservation resources to patrol particular areas at particular times of the year in order to reduce the likelihood of poaching by species, age classes, and conservation status.

To investigate whether nest predation can influence the breeding success of Ferruginous Ducks Aythya nyroca, artificial nests were used in Nagyberek, the strictly protected swamp pond of the Juniper Woodland Nature Conservation Area (Somogy county, south Hungary). Experimentation lasted for 4 weeks, a similar length of time to the incubation period of Ferruginous Ducks. After 1 week, 80% of nests were intact, after 2 weeks only 46%, and after 3 and 4 weeks only 2% remained undamaged. Nest survival rates were not affected by the width of the sedge stands, but as water levels surrounding nests decreased, nests became more accessible to Wild Boar Sus scrofa and other land mammal predators, which increased the rate of predation. Artificially maintaining water levels would not only decrease the predation rate of nests, but would also maintain feeding areas for ducks. Wild Boar were the main cause of clutch loss in this area, and therefore by management measures, such as a reduction in their abundance or attracting them away from potential nesting sites by providing food elsewhere, the breeding success of the Ferruginous Ducks may be further improved.