State of Birds 2024 - Swiss Ornithological Institute

Download Report 2024

The State of Birds in Switzerland

Update 2024

Breeding bird index

Update 2024

Swiss Bird Index SBI

Headlines

Many woodland species have continued to fare well in 2023. But Yellowhammer and European Greenfinch find themselves in an increasingly precarious position.

Biodiversity promotion areas help to increase species diversity in farmland. Low-intensity farming also enhances biodiversity.

Ornithologist Walter Christen has been watching birds in the Aare Plain near Solothurn for 43 years. He has now dedicated a comprehensive publication to this area.

Urbanisation and intensive farming have led to declines in bird populations across Europe. In Switzerland, many species have been able to sustain their numbers at higher elevation or even show positive trends.

Wetlands have become rare in agricultural landscapes in Switzerland. One project proposes artificially flooding fields to provide stopover sites for migrating waders – with huge success!

Dabbling ducks are overwintering on Swiss lakes in increasing numbers, attracted by ice-free shallow water zones. For species-rich assemblies of ducks to thrive, they need undisturbed, natural stretches of shore.

Contrary to expectations, the breeding ranges of European species have shown no significant shift to the north. New areas were occupied mainly near existing populations, while isolated occurrences tended to disappear.

Many woodland species have continued to fare well in 2023. But Yellowhammer and European Greenfinch find themselves in an increasingly precarious position.

Biodiversity promotion areas help to increase species diversity in farmland. Low-intensity farming also enhances biodiversity.

Ornithologist Walter Christen has been watching birds in the Aare Plain near Solothurn for 43 years. He has now dedicated a comprehensive publication to this area.

Urbanisation and intensive farming have led to declines in bird populations across Europe. In Switzerland, many species have been able to sustain their numbers at higher elevation or even show positive trends.

Wetlands have become rare in agricultural landscapes in Switzerland. One project proposes artificially flooding fields to provide stopover sites for migrating waders – with huge success!

Dabbling ducks are overwintering on Swiss lakes in increasing numbers, attracted by ice-free shallow water zones. For species-rich assemblies of ducks to thrive, they need undisturbed, natural stretches of shore.

Contrary to expectations, the breeding ranges of European species have shown no significant shift to the north. New areas were occupied mainly near existing populations, while isolated occurrences tended to disappear.

Breeding birds

Switzerland – the place to be?

Europe’s breeding birds are under pressure. Estimates suggest that there are over half a billion fewer birds on the continent than in 1980, which corresponds to a decline in the breeding bird popul...

Winter visitors

Habitat niches in shallow-water zones

The first thing that comes to mind for many when hearing the term «waterbird census» is «counting ducks». It is true that, on average, ducks make up a little more than half of all waterbirds overwi...

Breeding birds

The long-term population trends of breeding birds in Switzerland are extremely well documented thanks to various monitoring schemes. The objective of these countrywide surveys is to gain an overview of the current distribution and population sizes of Swiss birds and to keep track of changes. Having access to such detailed knowledge for a whole group of animals is unique even in Switzerland. Internationally, few monitoring schemes exist that have such dense spatial coverage for so many species.

Further analyses

Publications

Links

Common Linnet

Migrants

Long-tailed Tit

Observing migrating birds and researching migration has a long tradition for our volunteer collaborators as well as for the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Our goal is to document migration, identify changes and make data available to support conservation efforts. To achieve this, various sections of the Swiss Ornithological Institute, but also ringing teams and work groups are involved in projects that are often long-term. Birds that are stopping over or in active migration make up just under half of all records submitted by volunteers on ornitho.ch and entered into the Swiss Ornithological Institute’s database. Thanks to these efforts, migration and the occurrence of passage migrants in Switzerland are better documented than ever before.

Further analyses

Publications

Links

Winter visitors

With its many lakes and rivers, Switzerland is an important wintering site for waterbirds. Accordingly, population and distribution monitoring during the winter focuses on this group. For decades, waterbirds have been counted twice every winter on all important sections of rivers and lakes. Switzerland has an international responsibility for several species. Many other species that are not dependent on waterbodies are surveyed via the project “Monitoring rare breeding and visiting birds”, as are migrants.

Further analyses

Links

Goosander

International news

White-tailed Sea-eagle

Sound knowledge of the distribution, population sizes and trends of birds in Europe and beyond is indispensable when it comes to evaluating the situation of breeding and visiting birds in Switzerland. We therefore collaborate closely with institutions in other European countries as well as with international organisations in the areas of monitoring and assessment. The Swiss Ornithological Institute is actively involved in several European projects.

Projects

Publications

Links

Report 2024

The annual publication “The State of Birds in Switzerland” summarises the results of our various monitoring projects, conducted with the support of more than 2000 volunteers in all parts of the country.

Download now

The reports from previous years

Recommended citation State of Birds 2023 online:

Strebel, N., S. Antoniazza, N. Auchli, S. Birrer, R. Bühler, T. Sattler, B. Volet, S. Wechsler & M. Moosmann (2024): The State of Birds in Switzerland : Report 2024 www.vogelwarte.ch/state. Swiss Ornithological Institute, Sempach.