This chapter deals with Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) for birds on designated sites, including SSSIs, Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and Ramsar sites. It provides guidance on the identification of attributes, targets and methods of assessment for birds where these are notified or qualifying interest features.

 

The conservation objectives for birds in designated sites are determined by the legislative background to the designations in place. They are effectively aimed at maintaining bird populations, or the diversity of species within defined assemblages, both through the protection of the habitats supporting them and management against the negative impacts of disturbance. The attribute tables in this guidance list targets that should be used to aid in monitoring whether conservation objectives are being met for each of the interest features on a site.

 

Generic guidance tables are provided for three categories of feature types: aggregations of breeding birds, assemblages of breeding birds, and aggregations of non-breeding birds.