It was good to see that the Common Pochard was amongst species announced this week that would be subject to further hunting restrictions in the UK. Once common the number of these ducks has fallen dramatically in recent years and although this is unlikely to be solely due to hunting, this change will see one further pressure on the population reduced.
Official figures show that this wintering numbers of this species (c30000 birds) has declined by over 60% since 1987 and the breeding population, about 500 pairs, has declined by 35%. In some breeding areas this decline has been reported as much as 90% in the last 30 years. One interesting fact that has emerged from the data is that the decline is higher in females than in males. In addition to a fall in numbers the range of this species is contracting. The most recent data shows a 36% reduction of occupancy (No of 10km squares where it has been seen) in the summer and a 16% reduction if occupancy in the winter.
There are many reasons put forward for this decline including habitat loss, climate change, declining food availability and avian flu. Whilst hunting does not appear to be a major factor, its restriction will remove an additional pressure on the species.
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