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| Turtle Dove Andy Hay |
The latest State of the UK s Birds report, published
today, reveals many of our most familiar countryside birds are
undergoing sweeping changes with some experiencing plummeting population declines, compared with the 1990s. It is now known that in some
parts of the UK these birds have disappeared completely.
A section of the report looks at the UK s 107 most
widespread and common breeding birds. Of these species, 16 have declined
by more than one third since 1995, including willow tit, starling,
cuckoo, lapwing, whinchat and wood warbler. Many of these species are
reliant on habitats in the so-called
wider countryside rather than
being maintained on special sites, such as nature reserves, Of particular concern, is that the number of grey
partridge has halved since 1995.
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| Yellow Wagtail - Andy Hay |
The unique British race of the yellow wagtail
- a bright yellow-headed version, whose population is found almost
entirely in the UK - has declined by 45 per cent over the same
period.
This year the alarming decline of some of the UK s most familiar countryside birds has been brought into sharp focus with
the launch of the Bird Atlas 2007-11, published by the BTO last month.
That mammoth mapping project covered all of the UK's breeding and
wintering birds and revealed how many countryside birds are disappearing
from the UK. For example, yellow wagtails have vanished from large
areas of England and virtually disappeared from Wales, whilst the range of
the turtle doves has shrunk by 34 per cent just since the previous
atlas was undertaken in 1988-91.
Dr Mark Eaton is an RSPB conservation scientist.
Commenting on the report, he said: I
think many of us have been shocked by how poorly some of our most familiar species are faring. Many of the
birds were referring to arent rare and dont occur in remote
locations. To the contrary, they are ones you used to see while walking the
dog or enjoying a family picnic. But over two decades many of
these species have ebbed away from huge swathes of our countryside. In
contrast some species, such as the red kite, have become conservation
success stories as this species has returned to our countryside.
The list of familiar countryside birds which are
declining include: Willow
tit, a woodland bird which has declined by 82 per cent since 1995 and its range has halved over the last two
decades;
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| Cuckoo - L Bimson |
Cuckoo,
whose numbers have halved since 1995. The latest bird atlas reveals that although its range has contracted by
just eight per cent over the last 40 years, though there are marked
declines in abundance in the south and east of Britain; Whinchat,
a bird of open countryside which has declined in number by 60 per cent since 1995, and in range by 48 per
cent over the last 40 years; Starling,
a bird of urban areas and farmland whose population
has decreased by 53 per cent since 1995. The atlas
reveals that its range has contracted by five per cent over the last 40
years with a steep decline in abundance in Britain, and an increase in
Northern Ireland; wood
warbler, a summer-visiting woodland bird, which has endured a 69 per cent decline since 1995, and a range
contraction of 34 per cent since the 1970s; Yellow
wagtail, a bird of farmland and wetland which has experienced a 45 per cent decline in numbers since 1995.
The atlas reveals that the yellow wagtail s range has contracted by
32 per cent; Lapwing,
a bird of farmland and wetland which has endured a 41 per cent population decline since 1995. The atlas
reveals that their range has contracted by 18 per cent over the last 40
years, with the greatest losses in western Britain and Northern Ireland;
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| Snipe - L Bimson |
Snipe, a
wetland bird whose breeding range has shrunk by 31 per cent over the last 40 years; Grey
partridge, a farmland bird whose population has declined by 53 per cent since 1995 and whose range has contracted
by 40 per cent
over the last 40 years; Corn
bunting, a farmland bird whose population has declined by 34 per cent since 1995. The atlas shows that the corn
buntings distribution has contracted by 56 per cent over the last
40 years; and the species is now extinct in Ireland.
Phil Grice is a senior environmental specialist Ornithology at Natural England. He said:
Whilst we have made great progress with reversing the declines in many of our rarer bird species,
thanks to site management and species recovery work, improving the
fortunes of our wider
countryside birds requires us to think
beyond good management of our special sites, like SSSIs. Through
Environmental Stewardship and initiatives like Nature Improvement
Areas, we are working in close partnership with farmers and other land
managers to make a difference for biodiversity across whole
landscapes, allowing people to experience England s characteristic wildlife
close to where they live .
Colette Hall is a species monitoring officer with the
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. She said:
There s worrying evidence here that the breeding ranges of many of our waders are drastically
shrinking. Were loosing much-loved species like snipe or lapwing
completely from southern parts of England now. A main cause seems to be
loss of habitat due to wetlands being drained for farming or development.
We need to protect and restore these habitats in order for species
like these and all wetland wildlife
to survive and prosper.
However, the report is not all bad news. Following its
reintroduction into England and Scotland and its ongoing recovery in
Wales thr red kite
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| Blackcap - LBimson |
has increased in number by 676 per cent since 1995.
Among songbirds, the goldfinch and the blackcap have also
increased their populations since 1995 by 109 per cent and 133 per cent,
respectively.
Dawn Balmer, of the British Trust for Ornithology, is the
lead author on the recently-published bird Atlas. She said: The latest findings from fieldwork
carried out by an army of volunteers for the atlas, provides a unique opportunity to assess changes in range
for all UK species over winter and the during the breeding season.
One of the most striking changes is for avocet which has expanded its
range in the UK more than 17-fold over the last 40 years. Better
monitoring of non-native species has also revealed the extent of their
spread, such as a 50 per cent increase for Canada goose since 1988 91.
The State of the UK s Birds report also looks at how
birds are faring in the UK s Overseas Territories. Although across these
territories globally there are 32 species of bird facing extinction,
the report delivers good news for some species, including the
Ascension frigatebird and Murphy s petrel, as a result of concerted
conservation action.
David Stroud of JNCC said: The UK s Overseas Territories contain more species of bird facing extinction than the whole of
mainland Europe. Twenty-one of these species occur nowhere else in the
world, so the UK has sole and total responsibility for them.
The State of the UK s Birds 2013 report is produced by a
coalition of three NGOs - RSPB, British Trust for Ornithology (BTO),
and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust and the UK Government s statutory nature
conservation bodies
Natural England (NE), Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), Scottish
Natural Heritage (SNH), and the Joint Nature Conservation
Committee. (JNCC).
