Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme: Health indices data

The Predatory Bird Monitoring Scheme website reports summary statistics, in form of control charts) for a suite of population health indices for a range of bird species, including barn owls and sparrowhawks.

Each bird that is submitted to the PBMS is given a post-mortem examination during which approximately 60 macroscopic observations and measurements are made. These observations can be used to generate population health indices that can inform us about the status of recruitment and survival, physiological stress, and nutritional status in the population. Changes in these indices may indicate where the population is under stress and therefore highlight where we might focus our monitoring to determine if chemical exposure is contributing to the changes observed.

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.