The latest annual report from the Breeding Bird Survey is now available, providing population trends of the UK’s breeding birds.
Published today, the latest BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) report shows positive news for a range of birds including Marsh Harrier and Corn Bunting. However, the report also reveals worrying declines for familiar woodland and garden species such as Chaffinch and Bullfinch. The latest data also show that some farmland birds that have experienced long-term declines, like Yellowhammer and Yellow Wagtail, continue to struggle.
BBS is the main scheme for monitoring the population changes of the UK’s common and widespread breeding birds. Long-term surveys such as BBS provide the evidence base that underpins effective conservation action, helping identify which species need help, where efforts should be focused, and whether interventions are working. Of the 119 species monitored by BBS, 43 have decreased since 1995, while 36 have increased.
Little Egret, a recent colonist, continues to increase with its numbers booming by 2,726% during the same time period while Red Kite has grown by a massive 2,464% thanks to successful reintroduction programmes across the UK. Despite an overall trend of declines for many of our breeding wild birds, the latest surveys reveal good news for several species.
Reduced to a single breeding pair in the UK in the 1970s, the Marsh Harrier, an impressive bird of prey of wetlands, has made a startling recovery in recent decades with estimates of 448 nesting pairs in 2022, and the numbers recorded on BBS squares increasing by 244% since 1995. Cuckoos, while struggling in many lowland parts of the UK, are faring much better in the uplands and across Scotland. In Scotland, the population has increased by 67% since BBS was launched in 1994. In the same period, Cuckoos have declined by around a third across the UK overall, with the greatest losses in England which has experienced declines of around 71%.
The species with the greatest declines include Turtle Dove, which has seen its numbers plummet by 98% and Willow Tit which has declined by 90%. Birds associated with wooded habitats continue to be in trouble. In just five years, Bullfinch numbers have fallen by almost 24% across the UK while Chaffinch has declined by close to 40% in the last 10 years.
Many species of farmland bird have been showing clear signs of decline in recent decades and unfortunately there appears to be little in the way of improvement for many of the affected species. Whilst there is some cause for optimism for some farmland species, with Skylark increasing by nearly 20% and Corn Bunting by 38% in the last decade – albeit from relatively low numbers compared to what they once were in the 1960s – other species continue to decline.
Yellowhammer and Yellow Wagtail, both once a common sight across many areas of the UK, are continuing to disappear from much of our agricultural landscape. Yellowhammer has suffered UK-wide declines of around a third since 1995 and two thirds since the mid-1960s. The figure in Wales is even more concerning with a 75% drop in numbers since1995. In the same period, Yellow Wagtail has crashed by more than half in England and there are signs of yet more decline in recent years, with numbers falling by a fifth in the period 2018 to 2023.
The Breeding Bird Survey is just one of JNCC’s 11 schemes that monitor species throughout the UK. These monitoring schemes provide the evidence base that underpins effective conservation action. They are critical to helping us understand how nature is faring and whether policies impacting conservation are being successful. These insights on the impact of policies on species, combined with other monitoring data, will also enable us to project the likely impact of conservation polices and their effectiveness.
Thanks to the dedicated work of thousands of volunteers across the country, and to the partnership with BTO and RSPB, these vital schemes provide the scientific foundation for protecting the future of our birds and their habitats.
The annual report is underpinned by the Official Statistics which have also been published today on the JNCC website.