Marsh Warbler (Acrocephalus palustris)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Critically Endangered (Breeding) [CR(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Acrocephalus palustris |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Bechstein, 1798) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Sporadic breeder, habitat not limiting. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Protection from disturbance/egg collection |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Increased areas of reedbed/fen and wet scrub would be beneficial for this species. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 5. Remedial action identified |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Relict or natural rarity |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Implement adequate monitoring of breeding attempts to support protection from disturbance and/or egg collecting etc.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Manage vegetation appropriately for this species at known sites, or those that were recently in regular use, ensuring suitable habitat heterogeneity.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Habitat management
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.