Press Releases - July/August 2008
Item 4

No. 2008/07/23
July 2008

Issued by BTO on behalf of BTO, JNCC and RSPB
Embargoed until 17 July 2008

Scotland: better for birds?

Latest results from the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) show that many bird species are doing better in Scotland than south of the border. The BBS is the primary source of information about our countryside birds, and results from the 2007 survey show that the Scottish populations of familiar birds such as Cuckoo and Skylark are bucking the UK trends.

Success stories for Cuckoo, House Martin and others…
A diverse range of breeding birds increased significantly in Scotland between 1994 and 2007, despite either declining, or showing no significant change, in the UK as a whole. These include Cuckoo (+39%), House Martin (+152%), Treecreeper (+60%) and House Sparrow (+30%). The fortunes of our countryside birds are closely linked with the habitats they use, and many species obviously find the conditions in Scotland more to their taste. Looking at different population trends in different parts of the UK can lead to the causes of the changes – the first step towards targeted conservation solutions. The story of the Cuckoo is particularly complex, as their breeding success is dependent on that of their host species, in whose nests they lay their eggs. The main hosts in Scotland are Dunnocks, which have also increased significantly in Scotland since 1994, and Meadow Pipits, which declined significantly.

Farmland birds holding on
The differences between the UK and the Scottish trends are particularly evident for some farmland birds. Numbers of Skylark (+2%), Starling (+1%), Linnet (+26%) and Yellowhammer (+15%) remained stable in Scotland, despite significant declines in the UK overall, suggesting that they are not subject to such intense land-management pressures as further south. Jacqui Kaye, from the BTO’s Scottish office, says, “Bird numbers are a useful indicator of the general health of our countryside, and governments are trying to reverse the dramatic declines we’ve seen in our farmland birds through agri-environment schemes. With that in mind, it’s great to see that farmland birds are managing to hold on in Scotland”.

We need more birdwatchers!
We are able to follow the fortunes of birds in Scotland thanks to volunteer birdwatchers, who walked a collective 2,000 km for the BBS in 2007, counting nearly 96 thousand individual birds of 167 species. These counts are essential for keeping track of Scottish bird populations, so we need more birdwatchers to cover BBS squares in Scotland! We’d urge anyone interested in taking part next year to find out more at www.bto.org/bbs.

Notes for Editors

• The Breeding Bird Survey started in 1994, and is simple but carefully designed, attracting many participants. The good coverage throughout the UK means we are able to report changes in many populations in detail, reporting specific trends for England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales and the nine English Government Office Regions, as well as for the UK overall.
• Details of all the above trends can be found in the BBS report. The full title of this report is The Breeding Bird Survey 2007 by Kate Risely, David Noble and Stephen Baillie. More information can be found at www.bto.org/bbs, and the report can be downloaded from www.bto.org/bbs/results/BBSreport07.pdf
• BBS press releases specific to Scotland and Wales have been produced.
• Changes in the status of breeding birds are used by the Government to set conservation priorities, and population trends are used as indicators of progress towards sustainable development.
• 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. Volunteer Regional Organisers co-ordinate the volunteers in their regions, matching birdwatchers with randomly selected 1-km squares to survey. The observers make two early-morning visits to their squares during the breeding season, and record all birds seen and heard along two 1-km walks across their square.
• 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.

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

For further information please contact:

Jacqui Kaye (Media, BTO Scotland) on 01786 466560 or e-mail: (office hours)
Kate Risely (BBS National Organiser) on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (office hours)
Paul Stancliffe (BTO Promotions Officer) on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (office hours)
James Reynolds (Head of Media, RSPB Scotland) on 0131 3116505 or 07725 065186
David Noble (Head of Census Unit, BTO) on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (office hours)
Graham Appleton (Head of Publicity, BTO) on 01842 750050 or e-mail:
Graham Appleton is available outside office hours on 07704 847935