Teal  (Anas crecca)

Teal are not an uncommon duck, figures show that the north-western European populations have increased by a figure of 2.5% annually between 1967 and 1993, and have since levelled off.

It has been calculated that nearly 70,000 individual teal are present annually in the UK outside the breeding season. This represents about 17% of the global population for this species. The success of the teal is thought to be due in part to an increase in the available wetland habitat, much of this due to reclaimed mineral extraction sites. However, teal are susceptible to low winter temperatures, and will migrate south to escape bad conditions. This can influence population figures either way, depending on the prevailing weather.

Teal are one of the migratory bird species that are used to assess the designation of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) under the EC Birds Directive. One site that qualifies as an SPA, and which plays host to about 1.5% of the north-western Europe population for the birds, is the Lower Derwent Valley in the East Riding of Yorkshire. This site is one of the most important – and largest – examples of traditionally managed wetland in the UK, and is home to large numbers wildfowl and waders, as well as bitterns.