Press Releases - Nov/Dec 2005 - Item 4

No. 2005/11/39
17 November 2005

Seventeen species having problems raising families

The British Trust for Ornithology/JNCC Nest Record Scheme has identified seventeen species whose increasingly poor breeding performance in recent years is giving cause for concern. Information collected by hundreds of volunteers, who visit nests to keep an eye on bird productivity, is being used to alert decision-makers to environmental problems faced by Britain’s birds.

Writing in the November edition of BTO News, Dr Dave Leech and Dr Humphrey Crick report the latest findings from analyses of the thousands of records that are submitted by volunteers to the Nest Record Scheme (NRS) each year (Notes 1 & 2). The number of species on the NRS Concern List has risen from fifteen to seventeen since last year. Four species have been added to the list in 2005: Skylark, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling and Mistle Thrush, and two (Lapwing and Bullfinch) have been removed.

A full list of the species on the list is given in the Notes for Editors (Note 3).

Dave Leech, who heads the BTO’s Nest Record Unit said:

“The NRS Concern List is designed to raise awareness of declines in breeding success for species whose numbers have fallen significantly in the UK. While the initial population declines were not necessarily due to reduced productivity, we are concerned that hard times may still lie ahead for these species.”

Skylark: Already on the red section of the Conservation Concern list, following a decline of 59% between 1978 and 2003. The losses of nests at the egg stage have risen significantly over the last fifteen years. Nests may fail due to factors such as predation, farming activity and poor weather. This is particularly worrying as other BTO research has shown that the number of broods that are raised each year has declined due to the increase in winter-sown cereals which provide poor nesting habitat for the species later in the season.

Spotted Flycatcher: Also on the red section of the Conservation Concern list, numbers have fallen by 81% over a 25-year period. There has been a steady increase in the losses of nests at the chick stage since the 1960s and it is now becoming obvious that fewer chicks are being produced from each successful nest. Flycatchers find insects, such as flies, hoverflies and butterflies, to feed to their growing chicks.

Starling: Another species on the red section of the Conservation Concern list, its numbers have fallen by 78% over a 25-year period. Until recently, Starlings have been raising more youngsters than they did in the 1960s and 1970s, a trend which indicated that summer conditions were relatively good. However, in the last ten years brood sizes have been falling rapidly. Starlings find much of the food they need for their youngsters by probing in lawns and other grassland to find larvae, such as leather-jackets.

Mistle Thrush: This amber-listed species has fallen in numbers by 32%. There has been a severe fall in brood sizes over the last ten years. Youngsters are fed on insects and other invertebrates.

Notes for Editors

1. Over the last 60 years, details of more than 1.3 million records of nesting attempts have been submitted to the BTO/JNCC Nest Record Scheme, each one detailing the location of the nest and the number of eggs and chicks it contained at each time that it was visited during the season. These data enable staff at the BTO’s Thetford headquarters to investigate changes in the nesting success of Britain’s birds over time.

2. The BTO/JNCC Nest Record Scheme is funded by a partnership of the British Trust for Ornithology and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (on behalf of English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales, and also on behalf of the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland).

3. Species on the Nest Record Scheme Concern List are: Moorhen, Ringed Plover, Barn Owl, Skylark, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Dunnock, Wheatear, Mistle Thrush, Willow Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Starling, House Sparrow, Linnet, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting.

4. Nests records for the following species are particularly needed: Blackcap, Bullfinch, Carrion Crow, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Corn Bunting, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Grey Wagtail, Jay, Lesser Whitethroat, Little Owl, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Marsh Tit, Mistle Thrush, Redstart, Reed Bunting, Ring Ouzel, Rook, Sedge Warbler, Skylark, Sparrowhawk, Stonechat, Tree Pipit, Treecreeper, Turtle Dove, Wheatear, Whinchat, Whitethroat, Willow Tit, Willow Warbler, Wood Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Yellowhammer.

5. Details about the BTO/JNCC Nest Record Scheme can be obtained by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the Nest Record Unit (Dept NNBW), BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU. Alternatively, visit www.bto.org/survey/nest-records/index.htm

6. Bird photographs are available to accompany articles. Contact for electronic versions.

7. For more facts and figures about Britain’s birds (description, number of eggs, population trends etc.) see www.bto.org/birdfacts

8. The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Graham Appleton on 01842 750050 (during office hours) or email
Dave Leech on 01842 750050 or email (during office hours)

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