Species Action Plan

The reed bunting inhabits reedbeds and other wetland habitats, as well as drier farmland sites such as overgrown ditches and hedgerows. The species is found throughout Britain and Ireland, although it is scarcer in the uplands and the far north and west. There are also some gaps in distribution elsewhere but with no clear pattern. A decline in numbers has occurred in recent years. In Britain, BTO census results show a relatively high population level from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s, followed by a decrease of more than 50% to a new, more stable lower level during the early 1980s. The Waterways Bird Survey, in particular, showed a steep decline from 1974 to 1983, but little change in numbers since then. The species also decreased in range by around 12% between the two breeding atlas periods (1968-72 and 1988-91), with the UK population estimated at around 240,000 pairs during the latter period. It is not a species of conservation concern elsewhere in Europe where it is common and widespread.

The reed bunting is protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 and EC Birds Directive, and is listed on Appendix II of the Bern Convention.

These are not well known though are thought to include the following factors:

The decline of the reed bunting has occurred at the same time as decreases in the numbers and/or range of a suite of other farmland birds, many of which share its diet of cereal, grass and wildflower seeds, and also feed their young on insects. It is therefore likely that its decline on farmland may be largely due to: changes in agricultural practice, particularly the increased use of pesticides and fertilisers; the switch from spring-sown to autumn-sown crops and the consequent loss of winter stubble fields; the more intensive use of grassland; and the general reduction in habitat diversity on farmland due to the loss of mixed farming and increased specialisation.

Deterioration of wet habitats may have had a serious effect on populations. BTO census data suggest that numbers in wetland habitats have declined. Loss of small ponds, unsympathetic river engineering and the encroachment of scrub and carr are all likely to have had adverse effects on both the breeding and wintering populations. The main period of recent land drainage was 1968-85, when both arterial watercourses and field drains were modified on a large scale, leading to a loss in both the quantity and quality of the reed bunting`s characteristic wetland habitats.

The reed bunting has not previously been regarded as a priority species for conservation action, but it is likely to have benefited incidentally from initiatives for other wetland species since it readily moves into newly-created wetlands. Conservation organisations have devoted considerable resources to the acquisition and management of reedbeds, wet grassland, saltmarsh and other wetlands.

The species has also benefited from rotational set-aside, although this has been significantly reduced in area in recent years. New prescriptions encouraging the growth of spring-sown cereals and retention of winter stubbles in the South Downs ESA, and the pilot Arable Stewardship Scheme should also benefit the reed bunting.

Andy Evans, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

The following LBAPs are working on Emberiza schoeniclus:

Originally published in: UK Biodiversity Group Tranche 2 Action Plans - Volume I: Vertebrates and vascular plants (June 1998, Tranche 2, Vol I, p65)

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