Written Question · S1W-20736 · Session 1
What the latest estimate is of the eider duck population; how many and what proportion of these are found in (a) the Shetland Islands, (b) …
The question
To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest estimate is of the eider duck population; how many and what proportion of these are found in (a) the Shetland Islands, (b) the Orkney Islands, (c) Argyll and Bute, (d) the Western Isles and (e) the Highland Council area, and what the local population changes in each of these areas have been over the past 25 years.
The answer
The most recently published estimate of the eider duck population
- 77,500 wintering in Great Britain, including 66,000 in Scottish inshore coastal waters
- is for the period 1986-92. The totals and proportions for Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, Moray Firth and the west coast of Scotland are set out in the table. Data for the administrative regions of Highland Council and Argyll and Bute are not available.Area | Population | Proportion | Trend
Shetland Islands | 7,000 | 10.6% | Declining
Orkney Islands | 6,000 | 9.1% | Not known
Western Isles | 6,000 | 9.1% | Not known
Moray Firth (only part of Highland Council area) | 2,500 | 3.8% | Not known
West coast of Scotland (includes Argyll & Bute) | 9,000 | 13.6% | Probably increasing
The population in the UK is resident, although winter numbers may be enhanced by variable numbers of birds originating from the large north-west European population.Limited evidence suggests an increase in the population up to at least the late 1980s, apart from in Shetland, where marked declines in the population have occurred (from a maximum of 16,500 in 1977 to an estimated 5,700 in 2001).
- 77,500 wintering in Great Britain, including 66,000 in Scottish inshore coastal waters
- is for the period 1986-92. The totals and proportions for Shetland, Orkney, the Western Isles, Moray Firth and the west coast of Scotland are set out in the table. Data for the administrative regions of Highland Council and Argyll and Bute are not available.Area | Population | Proportion | Trend
Shetland Islands | 7,000 | 10.6% | Declining
Orkney Islands | 6,000 | 9.1% | Not known
Western Isles | 6,000 | 9.1% | Not known
Moray Firth (only part of Highland Council area) | 2,500 | 3.8% | Not known
West coast of Scotland (includes Argyll & Bute) | 9,000 | 13.6% | Probably increasing
The population in the UK is resident, although winter numbers may be enhanced by variable numbers of birds originating from the large north-west European population.Limited evidence suggests an increase in the population up to at least the late 1980s, apart from in Shetland, where marked declines in the population have occurred (from a maximum of 16,500 in 1977 to an estimated 5,700 in 2001).
In the Official Report
No contribution in the Official Report cites S1W-20736 by reference.