Common Scoter (Melanitta nigra)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Least Concern (Non-breeding) [LC(nbr)] |
| 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: | Melanitta nigra |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| 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: | Eng WeBS trends (25 yr +288%, 10 yr +44%) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | England hosts an important winter population |
| 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: | No |
| Justification: | Species winters in coastal waters |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - sufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Consider and as appropriate implement the recommendations of SPA Reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 SPA Review and any additional recommendations from the 2016 SPA Review. Up to date evidence is required.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Quantify the threats to non-breeding aggregations with offshore renewable energy projects, fisheries, disturbance from shipping, and effect of any oil spills.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Other (specify in comments)
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: Not applicable
High priority sites:
Comments: Data should be available to analyse through its production via casework
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.