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Tunisia’s Largest Known Winter Gathering of Red-crested Pochards Reached 159 Birds

Male red-crested pochard swimming on open water
Conservation · Population & status

Winter observations of red-crested pochard (Netta rufina) in Tunisia reached levels far above the country’s historical records, according to a 2026 note in the Go-South Bulletin. A flock of 159 birds was counted at Sidi Saâd reservoir on 21 December 2025, and 120 were recorded at the same site during the International Waterbird Census on 18 January 2026.

Before 2023, the largest concentration reported in Tunisia had been 30 birds at Sebkhet Kelbia in January 1972. The new compilation covers observations from 2014 to 2026 at eight Tunisian wetlands. Counts remained low through 2022, then reached 35 birds at Khairat reservoir in December 2023, 56 at Sebkhet Ouled Amer in January 2025 and the record 159 at Sidi Saâd later that year. The authors describe the two Sidi Saâd counts as the largest concentrations yet reported in Tunisia, more than five times the previous maximum known before 2023.

The authors do not attribute the recent rise in observation frequency and flock size to a single cause. The most recent flyway-level analysis for 2004–2023 classified the trend for the relevant population as uncertain. They discuss several possibilities for the newer Tunisian records, including a population increase after 2023, recent expansion of the breeding range in the region, or regional redistribution of birds.

Sources and image credit

  1. Augmentation remarquable de l'effectif hivernal de la Nette rousse Netta rufina en TunisiePrimary bulletin note posted 30 July 2026. It compiles winter observations of red-crested pochard in Tunisia from 2014 to 2026 across eight wetlands. A record 159 birds were observed at Sidi Saâd reservoir on 21 December 2025 and 120 at the same site on 18 January 2026. Before 2023, the largest known Tunisian concentration was 30 birds in 1972. The authors state that the recent increase in observation frequency and flock size cannot be clearly attributed to a true increase in the biogeographic population; they discuss population growth after 2023, breeding-range expansion and regional redistribution as possible explanations.

Image: Hans Hillewaert — wild male Red-crested Pochard at Albufera, Mallorca, Spain, 16 April 2009. Source: Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0. Representative species image; not a bird from the Tunisian observations. · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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