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| Turtle dove - Andy Hay |
The migration of millions of birds across the face of
the planet is one of nature’s greatest annual events. Every spring some species
move north, while every autumn those same species move south, very often
linking continents.
Although these migration patterns are as regular as
the seasons, monitoring is revealing that, for some species, fewer birds are
making the journey each season as the populations of these birds, including
species nesting in the UK, are declining rapidly.
The latest in the annual series of State of the UK’s
Birds report (published today, Thursday 16 October, 2014) includes a migratory
birds section, including trends for 29 migrant species which nest in the UK in
summer and spend the winter around the Mediterranean, or in Africa south of the
Sahara Desert. For the first time the recent population trends for these
migratory species have been combined into an indicator revealing some marked
differences between species that winter in different areas.
Species, such as whinchat, nightingale, tree pipit and
spotted flycatcher, which winter in the humid zone of Africa – stretching
across the continent from southern Senegal to Nigeria and beyond - show the
most dramatic declines: the indicator for this group of species has dropped by
just over 70 per cent since the late 1980s. This contrasts with species, such
as sand martin, whitethroat and sedge warbler, wintering in the arid zone (just
below the Sahara desert). These species have fluctuated considerably since 1970,
but show a less than 20 per cent decline overall.
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| Nightingale - Andy Hay |
One of the most dramatic declines is that of the
turtle dove with a decline of 88 per cent since 1995. The following species
have also declined over the same period: wood warbler, 66 per cent; pied
flycatcher, 53 per cent; spotted flycatcher, 49 per cent; cuckoo, 49 per cent;
nightingale, 43 per cent; and yellow wagtail, 43 per cent.
Concern about migratory bird species is growing and
future editions of the State of the UK’s Birds report will contain a regular
update to the migratory birds indicator. To understand the changing status of
the UK’s migratory birds, researchers need to understand more about what’s
driving these declines. Evidence is currently being gathered from a variety of
sources including tracking studies and on-the-ground surveys.
Martin Harper, RSPB Conservation Director, said: “West
Africa is the winter home for many species bird species that breed in the UK.
But many of these birds that cross continents are in rapid decline. Their
nomadic lifestyle, requiring sites and resources spread over vast distances
across the globe makes identifying and understanding the causes of decline
extremely complex. The problems may be in the UK or in West Africa, or indeed
on migration in between the two.”
David Noble, Principal Ecologist at BTO said: "We
can accurately monitor the patterns of decline in these once-familiar summer
breeders thanks to several decades of careful observations by an army of
volunteer birdwatchers. More recently, tracking devices have shed light on
migratory routes and key wintering areas. To take appropriate action, further
study is needed to determine the pressures faced in sub-Saharan Africa, as well
as breeding here in the UK.”
Colette Hall, Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Species
Monitoring Officer said: “The length of many bird migrations – often thousands
of miles – makes it very difficult to pinpoint where and what is causing
populations to fall. So the more information we can get all along the migration
routes – on land use changes, new infrastructure etc - the better we can target
protection measures. It’s important that we help build up the capacity of local
bird organisations and volunteers across the world to provide vital information
through their own long-term monitoring.”
Alan Law, Director of Biodiversity Delivery at Natural
England said: “It is self-evident that effective conservation of a migratory
species requires appropriate measures to be in place at each step of the
migratory cycle. For some species, there is growing evidence of pressure
on breeding success here in England. Our focus therefore is to ensure that
well-managed habitats are available in this country so that migratory species
can breed here successfully; this work involves close collaboration with land
managers both on designated conservation sites and across the wider farmed
countryside”.
David Stroud, Senior Ornithologist with the Joint
Nature Conservation Committee, said: “Migratory birds depend on conservation
actions in all the countries they move through in the course of their annual
cycle. The UK is working with these countries to help improve the
condition of their critical habitats through its participation in multi-lateral
environmental agreements such as the Biodiversity Convention and the Ramsar
Convention on wetlands.”
The State of the UK’s Birds report also covers the
UK’s Overseas Territories. The latest evidence reveals mixed fortunes for two
important albatross populations in the UK’s Overseas Territories. Seventy per
cent of the world’s black-browed albatrosses nest in the Falkland Islands. A
population increase here has allowed researchers to downgrade the extinction
threat of this species from Endangered to Near Threatened. Sadly, the fortunes
of the grey-headed albatross have deteriorated as declines have been reported
in nesting colonies on South Georgia, which hosts half the world’s population.
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| Cuckoo at Lunt meadows- L Bimson |
The State of the UK’s Birds report is published by a
partnership of eight organisations: RSPB; British Trust for Ornithology;
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust; Natural Resources Wales; Natural England;
Northern Ireland Environment Agency; Scottish Natural Heritage; and the Joint
Nature Conservation Committee.
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For further information and to arrange an interview,
please contact:
Chris Collett, Communications Manager, 0191 233 4317,
07885 834889
Paul Stancliffe, BTO Media Manager: 01842 750050 /
07585440910; email - paul.stancliffe@bto.org
Mark Simpson, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust press
officer: 01453 891138 / 07825 890590
Joint Nature Conservation Committee Press office: tel: 01733
866839, email: communications@jncc.gov.uk
Ellen Softley, Natural England press office: 0300 060
0213/ 07990 804795 ellen.softley@naturalengland.org.uk
