These are the main schemes for monitoring the population changes of the UK’s widespread breeding birds, providing an important indicator of the health of the countryside. The results are published annually as Official Statistics and used widely by Defra and the Statutory Nature Conservation Bodies (SNCBs, e.g. Natural England and NatureScot) to set priorities and to inform conservation action, and as the evidence base against which the UK’s biodiversity targets are measured. BBS data are also routinely used in research, with recent examples including peer-reviewed papers published in 2022 and 2024 which measured the efficacy of the UK’s network of protected areas in supporting wildlife. The 2024 Breeding Bird Survey Report highlights the continuing decline of some farmland species and more recent declines of woodland birds, at least in England. In Scotland, there is a focus on upland birds, where an all-species indicator using BBS data shows a 20% decline since 1994. In Wales, there are mixed fortunes, with species like House Sparrow bucking the downward trend seen in England, whilst Curlew are in severe decline, as they are elsewhere in the UK. Some songbirds in Northern Ireland, such as Blackbird are doing comparatively well compared to the wider UK trend. We thank nearly 3,000 skilled and dedicated volunteers who give their time to BBS and WBBS and make the monitoring of the UK’s breeding birds possible. Download the 2024 report Or, browse all editions of the Breeding Bird Survey Report >

We all know that population vary over time, but also between locations. However, the changes in some locations can be more similar to each other than the changes at other locations, that is the ups and downs over time tend to be more closely matched. This is known as ‘synchrony’, when the population does well at one site, it does well at others, and similarly they tend to dip at the same time. There can be a number of reasons why this might occur, including similar changes in habitat, or weather, or simply populations might be linked by dispersing individuals. Understanding these patterns can help in the design of conservation strategies by helping better target scarce resources to where they might be most effective.

Includes articles on monitoring Linnets and nest recording Grasshopper Warblers. It has a guide to ageing and sexing Water Rail and an article explaining why you might have seen more Siskins than normal in your garden last year. It also features a project studying Whooper Swans, two stories from Bird Observatories, the first in a new series about how different ringing groups work and much more.

The spring 2025 issue of SMPnews contains a special feature about our inland colonies of Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns, alongside a small gull ID guide and an in-depth article about seabirds at inland site Rye Meads in Hertfordshire. You'll also find an update on the Our Lost Seabirds appeal ringing grants, which have been supporting new seabird ringing volunteers, species focus articles on Common Terns and Arctic Skuas, and an introduction to the BTO SMP team.