Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme

The Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme (SRMS) was established in 2002 to improve partnership working between organisations involved in raptor monitoring in Scotland. The SRMS currently focuses primarily on the annual monitoring of the abundance, distribution and breeding success of diurnal birds of prey and owls native to Scotland. Because of its ecological similarity to raptors, the common raven is given honorary status as a bird of prey and is included in the scheme.

There are currently eight partners in the scheme: Scottish Raptor Study Group (SRSG), British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB Scotland), Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP), Scottish Ornithologists’ Club (SOC) and Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS). Representatives from these organisations form the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Group which oversees the work of the scheme.

The scheme has three main objectives:

Cooperation – to promote better cooperation between the various bodies responsible for gathering information on Scottish raptors;
Survey and Monitoring – to provide robust information on Scottish raptor populations to determine trends in numbers, range, survival and productivity, and to understand the causes of population changes;
Data and Information Standards – to maintain high and uniform standards for the collection, collation, auditing and analysis of data, and reporting of information.

Scottish Raptor Monitoring Officer - Brian Etheridge. Photo by John Rhead

To meet these objectives, a Raptor Monitoring Officer has been employed since 2003. The post was held part-time from 2003-2013 by Brian Etheridge. Brian’s role was to coordinate raptor monitoring efforts across Scotland and he has been key to the scheme’s success. After ten years in post, Brian retired in March 2013. A new, full-time position (Scottish Raptor Monitoring Coordinator) began in June 2014 and this post is currently filled by Dr Amy Challis.

In 2009, the Scottish Raptor Monitoring Scheme was awarded the top prize for Best Practice from The Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

STOP PRESS! SEPT 2015 – NEW SRMS WEBSITE NOW LIVE – PLEASE VISIT!

PDFs of all the SRMS reports are available to download here:

Download 2014 SRMS Report (PDF)
D ownload 2013 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2012 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2011 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2010 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2009 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2008 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2007 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2006 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2005 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2004 SRMS Report (PDF)
Download 2003 SRMS Report (PDF)