Abundance and reproduction behavior data for waterbirds ( <scp>Anatidae</scp> , <scp>Rallidae</scp> , <scp>Charadriiforms</scp> , <scp>Podicipediforms</scp> ) breeding in <scp>European France</scp> based on a probability sampling design

Abstract Appropriate management of wildlife requires sound knowledge and high‐quality data about species distributions, abundance, and trends in numbers. From a legal standpoint, Article 12 of the European “Birds” Directive requires Member States to report on breeding populations sizes. Acquiring such data is difficult owing to the wide distribution of most species and the multispecies nature of surveys. We relied on a stratified two‐stage spatial sampling design to assess breeding population size of waterbirds in European France. The data come from 2428 grid cells of 500 m × 500 m surveyed by territory or spot mapping three times at one‐month interval between 15 March and 15 June during the springs of 2021 or 2022. Individual bird location within each grid cell and their breeding behavior were recorded. A total of 6938 grid cell visits were undertaken, yielding 64,731 observations accounting for 132,292 individuals. These data are primarily aimed to assess the breeding population size of the 25 most common waterbirds (the population size estimates will be presented in a future article). However, because the location and time of observation of all individuals, as well as their behavior, are recorded, questions such as intra‐ and interspecific distribution rules, or habitat selection processes, can be addressed with this dataset too. As observers were also incited to record all other species among Anatidae, Rallidae, Charadriiforms and Podicipediforms, this dataset also provides robust original data on exotic and rare birds. The detailed Metadata and complete data set are available in MetaCat in JaLTER at https://jalter.diasjp.net/data/ERDP-2025-02 .