UK wild bird populations in long term decline

UK wild bird populations in long term decline

Defra has just published its annual statistical release WILD BIRD POPULATIONS IN THE UK for the period 1970 to 2014. Bird populations provide good indicators of the broad state of wildlife in the UK. This is because they occupy a broad range of habitats and react to environmental pressures that also impact on other groups of wildlife. Unfortunately, the latest statistics continue to demonstrate that wild bird populations in the UK are experiencing long term decline.

The latest statistics make fairly depressing reading, the highlights (or lowlights!) being as follows:

• The all-species index in the UK was nine per cent below its 1970 level;
• The breeding farmland bird index in the UK was less than half (a decline of 54 per cent) of its 1970 level;
• The breeding woodland bird index in the UK was 20 per cent lower than its 1970 level;
• The breeding water and wetland bird index in the UK was 15 per cent lower than its 1975 level; and
• The breeding seabird index in the UK was 27 per cent lower than its level in 1986 – the lowest level recorded.

The only positive news is that in the winter of 2013-14 the wintering waterbird index in the UK was almost double (up 93 per cent) from its 1975-76 level. Although even here the results are somewhat mixed, with certain species and groups faring worse than others.  Between 2007-08 and 2012-13, for example, the smoothed index for wildfowl declined by five per cent and the index for waders declined by almost eight per cent.

“Amongst wildfowl, scaup numbers are down by nearly 60 per cent and European whitefronted goose and pochard populations by 55 per cent and 45 per cent respectively since 1975-76. In contrast, numbers of Svalbard light-bellied brent goose and gadwall increased 13- and 15-fold, respectively, and British/Irish greylag geese by 10-fold over the same period.

Amongst waders, populations of avocet have increased almost 13-fold since being included in the indicator in 1989-90. Ringed plover and dunlin numbers showed the steepest declines, declining by 38 per cent and 49 per cent respectively since the start of the time series in the winter of 1975-76.”The full report can be downloaded here.

Image credit: Lapwing ©Allan Chard 

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