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Cairngorms Survey Found Oystercatchers Down 15% Since 2021

Adult Eurasian oystercatcher standing beside a chick in Scottish grassland
Conservation · Population & status

The 2025 Cairngorms Wader Survey found declines in all five monitored breeding waders compared with the previous survey in 2021. Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) numbers were 15% lower, according to results released by RSPB Scotland on 13 March 2026.

The survey also recorded declines of 45% for common redshank (Tringa totanus), 25% for northern lapwing (Vanellus vanellus), 24% for eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata) and 18% for common snipe (Gallinago gallinago). The monitoring programme has been repeated every five years since 2000 and covers breeding waders on farmland across the Cairngorms.

The 2025 survey had its greatest coverage yet

A record number of volunteers and participating farmers expanded the survey to more than 100 sites across the National Park, making the 2025 round the broadest so far. The Cairngorms National Park Authority says the larger and more representative sample will provide a stronger baseline for future comparisons.

That expanded coverage also means the headline changes need to be interpreted in context. The Park Authority notes that the increased number of survey sites may have influenced the overall results, and that there is evidence of some birds moving onto land outside the surveyed area. A full analysis was still being prepared for publication later in 2026.

Some local sites showed increases

Despite the overall declines, increases were recorded at 16 sites in Strathspey and Badenoch and four sites in Grampian. RSPB Scotland says these local improvements may be linked to habitat work already being carried out by farmers and land managers.

The partnership is continuing habitat management, machinery-loan schemes, advice to farmers and predator management through the Strathspey and Grampian wetland and wader initiatives. The survey results are intended to help identify where those measures should be targeted.

Sources and image credit

  1. RSPB Scotland. (2026, March 13). How are farmland birds doing in the Cairngorms?Project-partner results release for the 2025 Cairngorms Wader Survey. All five monitored breeding waders declined since 2021: redshank 45%, lapwing 25%, curlew 24%, snipe 18% and oystercatcher 15%. The survey has been repeated every five years since 2000.
  2. Cairngorms National Park Authority. (2026, March 13). Wader survey results.Partner-authority summary confirming the survey's largest coverage to date, with more than 100 sites. It cautions that expanded coverage and birds occurring outside areas surveyed previously may affect direct comparison with 2021; full analysis was still underway.

Image: Charlie Marshall — adult Eurasian Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) beside a chick in Blairgowrie, Scotland, photographed 11 June 2023; Wikimedia Commons / Flickr; representative Scottish breeding-wader image, not a bird from the Cairngorms survey · CC BY 2.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Population & status

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus Explore species Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata Explore species Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus Explore species Common Redshank Tringa totanus Explore species

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