Breeding Bird Survey 2014 results
14 Aug 2015
There's good news in the recently released results of last year's Breeding Bird Survey, with noticeable short-term increases among some of the UK's resident breeding species. Stonechat (+76%) and Grey Wagtail (+50%) are two examples, both of which seem to have benefited from a mild winter in 2013/14.
Some vulnerable long-distance migrants also showed increases on 2013, such as Lesser Whitethroat (+34%), Tree Pipit (+31%) and Cuckoo (+27%). However, the long-term trends for many species in this category are still a serious cause for concern. Cuckoo declined by 46% during 1995–2013, and Turtle Dove by 91% over the same period.
For BirdTrackers, there is an interesting article on page 6 of the report on song based detection rates during the survey. Unsurprisingly the secretive Cetti's and Grasshopper Warblers lead the way with more than 90% first detected by song. At the other end of the scale, Pied Wagtail, Jay, and Magpie were first recorded by song in less than 5% of cases. All three have quite distinctive (if quiet!) songs and it would make for an interesting challenge to find all three species based on song alone next spring and summer!
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