What is the UWP?
The Uist Wader Project is a partnership of SNH, RSPB and The Scottish Executive, established in 2000 with the aim of safeguarding the important populations of breeding wading birds in the Uists.
The Uist islands are ...
Map of Scotland showing the Uist Islands
The importance of waders
North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist support some of the most important populations of breeding waders (dunlin, ringed plover, redshank, snipe, oystercatcher and lapwing) in the British Isles.
A baseline survey carried out in 1983 showed that the islands held at least 17,000 pairs of breeding waders, including 25% of the total UK breeding population of both dunlin and ringed plover and 10% of the UK population of redshank. Subsequent surveys, carried out in 1995 and 2000, found that the wader numbers in South Uist and Benbecula had declined dramatically.
In South Uist and Benbecula, overall numbers declined by almost half, with snipe, dunlin and ringed plover down by almost 60%, redshank by 40% and lapwing 30%. In contrast, in North Uist where hedgehogs have not fully colonised, numbers of lapwing and redshank increased, which contrasts with the downward national trend for these species. However, ringed plover and dunlin also declined.