Fen Management Handbook - Scottish Natural Heritage

Grasshopper
Warbler
282
Locustella
naevia
Bearded Tit Panurus
biarmicus
Willow Tit Poecile
montanus
Yellow
Wagtail
Reed Bunting Emberiza
schoeniclus
Passerines
Species
that roost in
fens in the
non-breeding
season:
Swallow
Sand Martin
Pied Wagtail
Starling
Corn bunting
Apr-Aug UKBAP Reedbeds and mixed fen swamp
High marsh and carr
When breeding in wetlands, favours fens,
marshy or boggy rough grassland and
reedbeds with some bushes
All year Sch 1;
Sch1(NI)
Reedbeds and mixed fen swamp
Typically found in reed growing by or often
in fresh water (including along ditches with a
wide reed margin), or immediately adjoining
marshes and swamps. Nests where there is a
dense litter layer in the reedbed. Outside the
breeding season disperses to a larger number
of reed dominated sites.
All year UKBAP High marsh and carr
Nests in a hole that it excavates in soft, rotten
wood (frequently willow) feeding amongst
scrub and wet woodland.
Motacilla flava Apr-Sep UKBAP;
Sch1(NI)
Hirundo
rustica
Riparia riparia
Motacilla alba
Sturnus
vulgaris
Emberiza
calandra
Grazed or cut fen in floodplain
Breeds in open habitats that are grazed or cut
for hay, showing a preference for grazed areas
as the livestock increase the availability of
insect prey. When on autumn passage, it will
roost communally in reedbeds.
All year UKBAP Reedbeds and mixed fen swamp
High marsh and carr. Favours tall herbage and
small shrubs found in marshy and swampy
areas bordering water, wet meadows and
reedbeds. Outside the breeding season
roosts communally in reed and sedge beds.
Apr-Oct
Mar-Sep
All year
All year
All year
UKBAP
UKBAP;
Sch1(NI)
1 The information used is from Cramp (1977-1993), Hardey et al. (2006) and UK BAP species action plans
www.ukbap.org.uk
Reedbeds and mixed fen swamp
These species roost communally in reedbeds.
Swallow and Sand Martin do so when on
autumn passage. The resident species, Pied
Wagtail, Starling and Corn Bunting, do so in
winter.
2All wild birds are protected by the Wildlife and Countryside Act or its Northern Ireland equivalent, the Wildlife
(Northern Ireland) Order 1985
Abbreviations used:
Annex 1 – listed on Annex 1 of the Wild Birds Directive
Sch 1 – listed on Schedule 1 of the W&CAct
Sch 1(NI) – listed on Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985 as amended by the Wildlife
(Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
UKBAP – listed as a high priority species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan
References
Cramp, S. (Ed.) 1977-1993. The Birds of the Western Palaearctic. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Hardey, J., Crick, H., Wernham, C., Riley, H., Etheridge, B. and Thompson, D. 2006. Raptors: A Field Guide to Survey
and Monitoring. Stationery Office (TSO) Scotland.