According to the latest Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) report — compiled by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) on behalf of RSPB, JNCC and in association with WWT —around 12.5 million waterbirds spend the winter months in the UK.

Some of the birds that come to the UK's wetlands for a winter holiday have been doing so for many years. A Eurasian Oystercatcher – Haematopus ostralegus- trapped and fitted with a ring on the shores of The Wash was recaught in almost exactly the same place 40 years, 1 month and 2 days later. A Greenshank – Tringa nebularia - ringed at Farlington Marshes (Hampshire) was recaught at the same site 16 years and 3 days after it was first released.

According to Chas Holt, WeBS Core Count Organiser at the BTO, about 3,000 volunteers take part in monthly counts at wetlands across Britain, providing the numbers that prove just how important the UK is for wintering waterbirds.