Press Releases - July/August 2007
Item 2

No. 2007/07/53b
July 2007

Mixed bag for Scotland’s birds:
House Sparrows buck the UK trend,
whilst Lapwings and Kestrels decline

Each year, hundreds of birdwatchers go out with notebooks to count Scotland’s birds, as part of the annual BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey. The high rate of coverage means that we are able to report on changes in bird populations for Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland, as well as the UK overall. Here we report on the 2006 breeding season.

Overall picture in Scotland:

• More than 77,000 individual birds of 165 species were counted on 333 1-km Ordnance Survey grid squares across Scotland in 2006.

• This enabled us to monitor the changing numbers of 54 species in Scotland. Of these, 10 species showed a significant decline and 17 species increased significantly between 1994 and 2006. Curlew and Kestrel declined by more than 50%, and Lapwing, Swift, Rook, Hooded Crow and Lesser Redpoll all showed moderate declines (25–50%). Increases greater than 50% were recorded for Grey Heron, House Martin, Wren, Mistle Thrush, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Great Tit and Reed Bunting.

• The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is administered by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Across the UK, voluntary Regional Organisers play a vital role in coordinating the efforts of local birdwatchers. Volunteer birdwatchers are assigned 1-km squares that they visit three times in the season. Having got up very early in the morning, each volunteer spends about two hours counting all the birds they see and hear along their chosen 2-km route. The BTO’s work in Scotland is run from its Stirling office.

• The BBS started in 1994. This carefully designed, yet simple survey has attracted many participants. The good level of coverage throughout the UK means that we are able to report separately on changes in bird populations in Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as for the UK overall.

** SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FOLLOW **

Images to use alongside this story can be obtained from BTO by e-mailing
(this service is available outside office hours)

SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS

Record volunteer participation

A record number of volunteers took part in the Breeding Bird Survey in Scotland in 2006, with 333 sites surveyed by 269 volunteers across the country, including many sites on the Scottish islands as well as those located within the more populous central lowland belt.

Kestrel: a once common bird of prey continues to decline

The once common Kestrel has continued to decline in Scotland, with numbers down by nearly two-thirds since the start of the survey in 1994. Kestrels were seen on only 12% of sites visited in 2006, compared to more than 40% for Buzzard. The Kestrel has been amber-listed because of long-term declines in the UK, and because of the vulnerable status of its population in Europe as a whole. Kestrel breeding success is strongly linked to the availability of its main food source, voles.

Lapwings in trouble

Lapwings are finding it increasingly hard to successfully raise young on Scotland’s upland moors and farmland, with numbers now down by nearly half since 1994. The last breeding bird atlas, conducted during 1988-91 showed that this species had disappeared from many parts of western Scotland over the previous twenty years, and was much more abundant in the more agricultural east of the country. Similar declines were also noted in other western extremities in Britain, such as Cornwall and Pembrokeshire. The forthcoming 2007-11 atlas will hopefully identify where more recent declines have occurred within Scotland.

Whitethroats bounce back

The latest BBS results show that Whitethroat numbers have nearly doubled in the last twelve years. In common with other trans-Saharan migrants, the number of birds returning to Scotland each spring is affected by conditions on the wintering grounds and migration routes. Droughts in the Sahel region of Africa during the late 1960s, led to Whitethroats disappearing from many parts of the southern uplands and highlands of Scotland. However, in recent years, birds have been increasingly reported from upland sites again as the population spreads out from lowland and coastal strongholds.

Scottish House Sparrows buck the national trend

In contrast to their more southerly English neighbours, but in common with their Welsh counterparts, Scottish House Sparrows continue to fare well, with numbers up by 31% since 1994. Some urban House Sparrow populations, such as those in London, have undergone severe declines in recent years, so it is encouraging to see that the more rural Scottish birds continue to prosper. However, studies being carried out under the ‘Biodiversity in Glasgow’ project this year, may discover as yet unidentified declines in Scottish cities.

Notes to editors

The full report can be viewed at www.bto.org/bbs/results/BBSreport06.pdf - A paper copy will be posted to you shortly.

Red-listed species increasing in Scotland during 1994-2006:

Amber-listed species increasing in Scotland during 1994-2006:

Amber-listed species decreasing in Scotland during 1994-2006:

Additional Notes

1. The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is administered by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) from its headquarters in Thetford, Norfolk and also promoted by staff from BTO Scotland in Stirling. Across Scotland, 26 voluntary BTO Regional Organisers play a vital role in coordinating the efforts of local birdwatchers.
2. The results from the BBS are designed to monitor a wide-range of common birds across all habitats. The survey started in 1994 and has now replaced the long-running Common Birds Census, which was largely restricted to farmland and woodland habitats. The results from both schemes provide a unique monitoring system for the UK’s common breeding birds.
3. Changes in the status of breeding birds are used by Government in their headline indicator of sustainable development. The abundance of terrestrial breeding birds has also been identified as one of the provisional Biodiversity State Indicators within the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and will draw on BBS data.
4. The BBS is a line-transect survey carried out on randomly selected 1-km squares of the National Grid. During the breeding season, each observer firstly makes a single visit to record the habitat and then two visits to count the birds.
5. The BBS is a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature conservation, on behalf of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
6. The report, the Breeding Bird Survey 2006, is included with this news release. This important survey is carried out by volunteer birdwatchers throughout the UK, who receive no financial reward or expenses for their efforts. We are indebted to them for their tremendous support.

For further information please contact:

Mike Raven on 01842 750050 or e-mail: during office hours
David Noble on 01842 750050 or e-mail: during office hours
Graham Appleton on 01842 750050 or e-mail: during office hours
Jacqui Kaye (BTO Scotland) on 01786 466560 or e-mail: during office hours