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GOLDCREST
Regulus regulus

 Goldcrest © Tommy Holden
 

• Population
  changes

• Productivity
  trends

• Additional
  information
Conservation listings
Europe: no SPEC category (concentrated in Europe, conservation status favourable)
UK: amber (>50% population decline, but data possibly unrepresentative)
Long-term trend
England: fluctuating, with no long-term trend
UK population size
842,000 territories in 2000 (1988–91 Atlas estimate updated using CBC/BBS trend: BiE04, APEP06)
Status summary
Goldcrest abundance is unusually severely affected by winter weather, and the strong increase in the species' CBC/BBS index up to the mid 1970s can be interpreted as recovery from the cold winters of the early 1960s. The subsequent decline has resulted in the recent addition of the species to the amber list, although it meets the criterion only because 1975, at the start of the relevant 25-year period, was the peak year of the population index. Trends over longer and shorter periods all suggest population increase, and the long-term trend looks very much like a series of damped oscillations following the 1962/63 winter. The high amplitude of year-to-year change reflects the species high breeding potential, and its sensitivity to cold winter weather. BBS has recorded substantial increases in all UK countries except Wales, where a significant decline has been registered. CBC had relatively poor coverage of conifer plantations, in which Goldcrests occur at increasing densities as the trees mature. The increase in area of prime habitat has therefore been poorly reflected in the long-term trend.
 

Population changes
CBC/BBS UK graph
 
Table of population changes for Goldcrest

Source Period
(yrs)		 Years Plots
(n)		 Change
(%)		 Lower
limit		 Upper
limit		 Alert Comment
CBC/BBS England 39 1967-2006 206 42 -20 197    
  25 1981-2006 278 -18 -38 14    
  10 1996-2006 528 22 11 35    
  5 2001-2006 588 -2 -11 6    
BBS UK 11 1995-2006 678 25 7 40    
  10 1996-2006 701 16 1 27    
  5 2001-2006 817 -8 -12 0    
BBS England 11 1995-2006 475 27 15 42    
  10 1996-2006 491 22 9 35    
  5 2001-2006 588 0 -10 8    
BBS Scotland 11 1995-2006 79 57 24 82    
  10 1996-2006 79 37 9 53    
  5 2001-2006 85 -8 -17 4    
BBS Wales 11 1995-2006 80 -38 -58 3    
  10 1996-2006 83 -38 -56 -7 >25  
  5 2001-2006 93 -31 -45 -16 >25  
BBS N.Ireland 11 1995-2006 38 84 21 111    
  10 1996-2006 42 45 3 64    
  5 2001-2006 45 7 -10 27    

BBS acknowledgement
 
BBS UK graph
BBS England graph
BBS Scotland graph
BBS Wales graph
 

Productivity trends
Productivity information is not currently available for this species

Additional information
BTO blue divider
 

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This report should be cited as:
Baillie, S.R., Marchant, J.H., Leech, D.I., Joys, A.C., Noble, D.G.,
Barimore, C., Grantham, M.J., Risely, K. & Robinson, R.A. (2009).
Breeding Birds in the Wider Countryside: their conservation status 2008.
BTO Research Report No. 516. BTO, Thetford. (http://www.bto.org/birdtrends)

Pages maintained by Iain Downie, Mandy T Andrews and Laura Smith: Last updated 18.02.2009