BTO-led research highlights the importance of the quality of protected areas in their effectiveness.

The BirdTrends 2023 report is a one-stop shop for authoritative information about the population status of the common breeding birds of the wider UK countryside. The report is based on data gathered by the many thousands of volunteers who contribute to BTO-led surveys. Previous BirdTrends reports, up to and including BirdTrends 2022, included species pages displaying the latest information on trends in population size, breeding performance and survival rates for 121 species, as measured by our long-term monitoring schemes. The species information contained in previous BirdTrends reports has now been incorporated into BirdFacts, which provides a one-stop, easy-access location to review all the existing knowledge that is available about all the species found in the UK. However, the BirdTrends report itself continues to provide an overall summary of current trends in more than 120 UK bird species and is designed to be used in conjunction with the BirdFacts species pages. Download PDF

Satellite-tracked male Cuckoos show higher fidelity to sites used during the breeding season than to sites used at other times of the year.

The Welsh Red Kite population is currently in ongoing recovery after a historic decline driven by persecution, and a consequent population bottleneck during the first half of the 20th century. Trends from the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey show that the population has grown rapidly over the past few decades. Nonetheless, the Red Kite remains a conservation concern, in particular around two Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated for the species’ conservation: the Berwyn SPA and the Elenydd—Mallaen SPA. Wind turbines represent a known threat to Red Kite populations, causing additional mortality through collisions. A large number of wind farm sites are currently at various stages of development (ranging from aspirational schemes to proposals under assessment) in Wales, especially in Mid Wales where Red Kites are at their highest density and where the Elenydd-Mallaen SPA is situated. The aim of this analysis is to model the potential impacts of current and proposed wind farm developments on the Welsh population of Red Kites, using a Population Viability Analysis.

Tracking the long-distance migrations of Arctic Skuas from their north-east Atlantic breeding grounds revealed complex migration strategies, with mixing of individuals from different populations at important staging areas before the birds reached their southern wintering grounds. Arctic Skuas are long-distance migrant seabirds that have seen large declines in breeding numbers across areas of the north-east Atlantic. Part of these declines has been attributed to poor food availability during the breeding season, exacerbated by predation from Great Skuas, particularly in years where food availability is low. However, Arctic Skuas only spend around a third of the year at their breeding grounds. Therefore, they likely also face a range of threats during the non-breeding season. To shed light on the migration routes and strategies of Arctic Skuas, researchers, including BTO scientists, tracked 131 individuals with small tracking devices called geolocators between 2009 and 2019, collecting information from four breeding populations: Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway and Svalbard. This collaboration revealed extensive mixing of Arctic Skuas from different breeding populations during migration in several discrete staging areas. An area of high marine productivity, part of which has recently been designated as a high seas Marine Protected Area, was particularly important to the skuas during both their south-bound (autumn) and north-bound (spring) migrations. Because of their predictable food sources, such staging areas are vital, fuelling long flights to the wintering areas and, during spring, enabling individuals to build up reserves for the upcoming breeding season. This considerable mixing of individuals means that if adverse conditions affect the skuas in these important staging areas, then it has the potential to negatively impact multiple breeding populations through reduced survival or productivity. However, the data also revealed some differences in the migration routes and staging areas of individuals from the different breeding populations. Specifically, during southbound migration, skuas from Scotland largely migrated south through the North Sea and along the Iberian Peninsula, whilst those from the other more northerly populations tended to head west towards the mid-Atlantic staging area. Individuals from Svalbard staged much further west in the Atlantic during both migrations, where they may have encountered different, potentially more favourable, conditions given that the Svalbard population appears to be declining less severely than other populations in the north-east Atlantic. Understanding where long-distance migrants, such as Arctic Skuas, are distributed during migration and the strategies they use is a vital first step in identifying threats that individuals may encounter en route, and how this may affect their survival, productivity and therefore population trends. This new knowledge will help us prioritise future research and conservation actions for this declining charismatic seabird. View the Press release associated with this publication

Hedgerows form an important semi-natural habitat for birds and other wildlife in English farmland landscapes, in addition to providing other benefits to farming. Hedgerows are currently maintained through annual or multi-annual cutting cycles, the timing of which could have consequences for hedgerow-breeding birds. The aim of this report is to assess the impacts on nesting birds should the duration of the management period be changed, by quantifying the length of the current breeding season for 15 species of songbird likely to nest in farmland hedges. These species are Blackbird, Blackcap, Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Robin, Song Thrush, Whitethroat, Wren and Yellowhammer.