The State of Birds in Switzerland - Stazione ornitologica svizzera

The 2018 report on «The State of Birds in Switzerland» is a very special one. For once, our report does not present the results of the latest annual counts of breeding birds and wintering water- birds; rather, it summarises the key findings of the «Swiss Breeding Bird Atlas 2013–2016» and in doing so takes stock of the developments of the past 20 years.

For the next 20 years, the Swiss Breeding Bird Atlas 2013–2016 will be the standard work of reference when it comes to assessing the state of our native bird communities and how they are changing over time. Its findings paint a clear picture of how we impact our environment. For example, the atlas reveals that woodland birds (with some exceptions) are doing well. In contrast, birds that breed in farmland have suffered further dramatic declines, leading to the disappearance of some species at a regional scale or – in the case of the Woodchat Shrike – from all of Switzerland. We explain the reasons for the various trends and suggest ways to preserve and promote our native birdlife. Indeed, urgent action is called for to support our bird communities.

In Switzerland, breeding birds are the best monitored group of wild animals, thanks to the tireless, dedicated and often decade-long effort of more than 2000 volunteer collaborators in all parts of the country. This atlas, the fourth in a series of atlases published at 20-year intervals, again triggered a wave of enthusiasm among our volunteers, who responded with countless hours of skilled fieldwork. Their tremendous effort is acknowledged on pages 40–43.

But the Swiss Breeding Bird Atlas 2013–2016 is a momentous event for the Swiss Ornithological Institute as well: from planning and preparation to the printing of the book, the creation of the website and, finally, the publication of journal articles, the atlas will have kept us busy for almost ten years. Our atlas team set its goals high, figured out how to achieve them, directed the volunteer collaborators, prepared all the materials, checked the data, clarified uncertainties, sent annual progress reports to the observers in charge of the atlas squares, analysed the data, modelled distribution and the change in distribution, generated the maps, produced population estimates, wrote, edited and translated the texts so that the atlas could be made available in four languages. All of this was only possible thanks to a remarkable degree of commitment and enthusiasm for this collaborative project.

Last but not least, we are grateful to our numerous donors for their generous support, be it in the form of larger contributions from institutions or small and large amounts from individuals who sponsored a species account or expressed their recognition for this unique project in other ways.

We hope that the Swiss Breeding Bird Atlas 2013–2016 will not remain a simple documentation, but will give rise to targeted measures in support of our bird communities and, in turn, benefit nature and the environment.