Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme (PBMS): map of bird submissions

A map of bird submissions has been produced that links directly to the Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme (PBMS) database. The map (an R shiny App) is interactive and allows users to examine bird submissions since 1990 and identify e.g. the bird they submitted, birds submitted in their area, select for female or male birds or by age, etc. There is also an option to display the bird data as Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations; this is only selected data for birds that have been analysed for PCBs - all birds receive a post mortem but only a selection are analysed (through specific funding).

PCBs are highly toxic industrial compounds and although they were banned in 1981 in the UK, they persist in the environment at dangerous levels because they are slow to break down.

This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council award number NE/R016429/1 as part of the UK-SCAPE programme delivering National Capability.