This Group was developed from Wetlands International’s project to re-launch the Hunting Research Group initially set up by Dr Teppo Lampio in 1969.

What and how much do we harvest?

Those are the two core questions driving the Waterbird Harvest Specialist Group. Our key focus is to gather data from hunters directly concerning numbers, species but also harvest methods themselves. We can then determine sex and age ratios in reference to the location, the method used and the time of year. Therefore, the Waterbird Harvest Group can finally assess the overall impact of harvesting on wild populations.

The Aims of the Group are (1) To use its results to improve estimates of bird species too secretive and scattered for an efficient watching census and (2) To appraise the hunting pressure on huntable species and to assess whether it is sustainable or not.

Our Latest News

Data is still flowing for the last season and the hunters have been very receptive to the three investigations lead in France during 2007-2008 (see March Newsletter). The dawn/dusk and daytime harvests have been fairly poor in comparison to the previous years (see April Newsletter). For this type of harvest alone, the data collected has allowed to determine that ducks represented 38.1% of the waterbirds harvested, including 22.1% of Common Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) (see June Newsletter).

Furthermore, the Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago) represented alone 44.5% of all waterbirds harvested. However, there is still a need for further data to make our observations truly representative. These results should therefore be used with caution.

For further information about the group’s activities and how you can get involved, please contact Gilles Deplanque.