CBC/BBS alerts & population increases
NOTE: The tables listed in this section only include those species for which combined CBC/BBS results are produced. For the 10 year and 5 year tables which are based on BBS data only, a more comprehensive list which includes additional species can be viewed under BBS population declines & increases.
1a. CBC/BBS UK alerts – long term
1b. CBC/BBS England alerts – long term
2a. CBC/BBS UK alerts – 25 years
2b. CBC/BBS England alerts – 25 years
3a. CBC/BBS UK alerts – 10 years
3b. CBC/BBS England alerts – 10 years
4a. CBC/BBS UK alerts – 5 years
4b. CBC/BBS England alerts – 5 years
5a. CBC/BBS UK population increases of >50% – long term
5b. CBC/BBS England population increases of >50% – long term
| 1a. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS UK 1967-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 53 | 91 | -99 | -99 | -98 | >50 | |
| Willow Tit | 53 | 40 | -94 | -98 | -89 | >50 | |
| Grey Partridge | 53 | 139 | -92 | -95 | -89 | >50 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 53 | 130 | -92 | -95 | -89 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 53 | 20 | -91 | -97 | -70 | >50 | Small sample |
| Corn Bunting | 53 | 83 | -83 | -93 | -69 | >50 | |
| Marsh Tit | 53 | 104 | -80 | -87 | -74 | >50 | |
| Little Owl | 53 | 59 | -78 | -87 | -62 | >50 | |
| Yellow Wagtail | 53 | 94 | -69 | -86 | -29 | >50 | |
| Greenfinch | 53 | 922 | -69 | -76 | -62 | >50 | |
| Whitethroat | 53 | 771 | -63 | -73 | -50 | >50 | |
| Yellowhammer | 53 | 661 | -62 | -70 | -53 | >50 | |
| Lapwing | 53 | 352 | -59 | -78 | -39 | >50 | |
| Mistle Thrush | 53 | 648 | -58 | -64 | -50 | >50 | |
| Song Thrush | 53 | 1152 | -49 | -57 | -40 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 53 | 173 | -42 | -65 | -17 | >25 | |
| Bullfinch | 53 | 407 | -41 | -53 | -28 | >25 | |
| Dunnock | 53 | 1182 | -38 | -47 | -28 | >25 |
| 1b. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS England 1967-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 53 | 90 | -99 | -99 | -98 | >50 | |
| Tree Sparrow | 53 | 106 | -96 | -98 | -92 | >50 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 53 | 95 | -94 | -97 | -92 | >50 | |
| Willow Tit | 53 | 36 | -93 | -97 | -87 | >50 | |
| Grey Partridge | 53 | 124 | -92 | -95 | -89 | >50 | |
| Tree Pipit | 53 | 51 | -92 | -97 | -84 | >50 | |
| Nightingale | 53 | 24 | -91 | -97 | -50 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 53 | 19 | -90 | -97 | -70 | >50 | Small sample |
| Starling | 53 | 750 | -89 | -93 | -85 | >50 | |
| Lesser Redpoll | 53 | 51 | -89 | -97 | -74 | >50 | |
| Corn Bunting | 53 | 79 | -82 | -92 | -68 | >50 | |
| House Martin | 53 | 362 | -79 | -94 | -27 | >50 | |
| Marsh Tit | 53 | 96 | -78 | -86 | -69 | >50 | |
| Cuckoo | 53 | 304 | -77 | -83 | -69 | >50 | |
| Little Owl | 53 | 57 | -75 | -85 | -64 | >50 | |
| Linnet | 53 | 555 | -73 | -80 | -63 | >50 | |
| Willow Warbler | 53 | 539 | -69 | -77 | -59 | >50 | |
| Yellow Wagtail | 53 | 92 | -67 | -85 | -26 | >50 | |
| Mistle Thrush | 53 | 516 | -66 | -72 | -59 | >50 | |
| Greenfinch | 53 | 783 | -65 | -73 | -53 | >50 | |
| Yellowhammer | 53 | 575 | -65 | -73 | -57 | >50 | |
| Whitethroat | 53 | 663 | -64 | -74 | -50 | >50 | |
| Skylark | 53 | 755 | -61 | -67 | -53 | >50 | |
| Meadow Pipit | 53 | 231 | -52 | -77 | -27 | >50 | |
| Song Thrush | 53 | 908 | -51 | -58 | -43 | >50 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 53 | 114 | -48 | -76 | -23 | >25 | |
| Bullfinch | 53 | 323 | -48 | -60 | -34 | >25 | |
| Lapwing | 53 | 296 | -45 | -71 | -20 | >25 | |
| Dunnock | 53 | 968 | -41 | -50 | -31 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 53 | 802 | -33 | -52 | -2 | >25 |
| 2a. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS UK 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 25 | 116 | -96 | -98 | -95 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 20 | -85 | -92 | -74 | >50 | Small sample |
| Willow Tit | 25 | 44 | -85 | -90 | -79 | >50 | |
| Greenfinch | 25 | 1725 | -68 | -70 | -66 | >50 | |
| Little Owl | 25 | 90 | -67 | -74 | -60 | >50 | |
| Grey Partridge | 25 | 213 | -62 | -67 | -56 | >50 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 25 | 182 | -61 | -68 | -53 | >50 | |
| Marsh Tit | 25 | 153 | -49 | -58 | -39 | >25 | |
| Lapwing | 25 | 652 | -45 | -52 | -39 | >25 | |
| Tawny Owl | 25 | 103 | -33 | -45 | -20 | >25 | |
| Yellow Wagtail | 25 | 160 | -32 | -44 | -17 | >25 | |
| Mistle Thrush | 25 | 1162 | -32 | -37 | -26 | >25 | |
| Garden Warbler | 25 | 461 | -28 | -37 | -18 | >25 | |
| Yellowhammer | 25 | 1194 | -27 | -31 | -22 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 25 | 2614 | -26 | -29 | -23 | >25 |
| 2b. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS England 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 25 | 114 | -96 | -98 | -95 | >50 | |
| Willow Tit | 25 | 39 | -85 | -90 | -79 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 19 | -84 | -93 | -76 | >50 | Small sample |
| Cuckoo | 25 | 505 | -71 | -74 | -67 | >50 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 25 | 125 | -71 | -76 | -64 | >50 | |
| Tree Pipit | 25 | 72 | -70 | -80 | -56 | >50 | |
| Little Owl | 25 | 87 | -67 | -73 | -59 | >50 | |
| Greenfinch | 25 | 1461 | -66 | -68 | -63 | >50 | |
| Starling | 25 | 1402 | -63 | -66 | -60 | >50 | |
| Grey Partridge | 25 | 190 | -59 | -65 | -52 | >50 | |
| House Martin | 25 | 713 | -51 | -57 | -45 | >50 | |
| Nightingale | 25 | 33 | -47 | -67 | -14 | >25 | |
| Mistle Thrush | 25 | 911 | -47 | -50 | -43 | >25 | |
| Willow Warbler | 25 | 918 | -46 | -52 | -40 | >25 | |
| Marsh Tit | 25 | 140 | -45 | -54 | -36 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 25 | 2036 | -34 | -37 | -31 | >25 | |
| Yellowhammer | 25 | 1036 | -34 | -37 | -30 | >25 | |
| Sparrowhawk | 25 | 286 | -33 | -40 | -26 | >25 | |
| Lapwing | 25 | 550 | -32 | -39 | -22 | >25 | |
| Garden Warbler | 25 | 376 | -32 | -39 | -22 | >25 | |
| Yellow Wagtail | 25 | 156 | -31 | -43 | -12 | >25 | |
| Curlew | 25 | 332 | -28 | -38 | -14 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 25 | 1564 | -28 | -34 | -24 | >25 |
| 3a. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS UK 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 10 | 39 | -82 | -88 | -75 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 10 | 14 | -71 | -84 | -50 | >50 | Small sample |
| Greenfinch | 10 | 1755 | -64 | -66 | -63 | >50 | |
| Little Owl | 10 | 68 | -42 | -54 | -31 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 10 | 3021 | -34 | -36 | -32 | >25 | |
| Willow Tit | 10 | 30 | -33 | -50 | -10 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 10 | 326 | -30 | -38 | -21 | >25 | |
| Marsh Tit | 10 | 148 | -29 | -38 | -18 | >25 | |
| Collared Dove | 10 | 1572 | -27 | -31 | -24 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 10 | 156 | -26 | -40 | -9 | >25 |
| 3b. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS England 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 10 | 38 | -81 | -87 | -74 | >50 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 10 | 13 | -69 | -84 | -48 | >50 | Small sample |
| Greenfinch | 10 | 1500 | -63 | -65 | -61 | >50 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 1815 | -49 | -52 | -46 | >25 | |
| Little Owl | 10 | 66 | -42 | -53 | -27 | >25 | |
| Tree Pipit | 10 | 68 | -42 | -59 | -19 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 10 | 2348 | -41 | -42 | -39 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 10 | 747 | -39 | -45 | -34 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 10 | 100 | -36 | -47 | -22 | >25 | |
| Willow Tit | 10 | 26 | -36 | -55 | -16 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 10 | 202 | -29 | -37 | -20 | >25 | |
| Sparrowhawk | 10 | 289 | -26 | -33 | -19 | >25 |
| 4a. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS UK 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 5 | 11 | -49 | -73 | -12 | >25 | Small sample |
| Turtle Dove | 5 | 21 | -45 | -63 | -22 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 5 | 143 | -39 | -47 | -29 | >25 | |
| Greenfinch | 5 | 1481 | -39 | -42 | -37 | >25 | |
| Redstart | 5 | 217 | -26 | -32 | -18 | >25 |
| 4b. Table of population alerts for CBC/BBS England 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 5 | 21 | -44 | -62 | -15 | >25 | |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | 5 | 10 | -43 | -69 | -12 | >25 | Small sample |
| Tree Pipit | 5 | 58 | -40 | -51 | -26 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 5 | 1668 | -39 | -42 | -37 | >25 | |
| Greenfinch | 5 | 1276 | -39 | -41 | -36 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 5 | 2201 | -30 | -31 | -28 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 5 | 693 | -28 | -34 | -22 | >25 |
| 5a. Table of population increases of >50% for UK CBC/BBS 1967-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Great Tit | 53 | 1257 | 93 | 72 | 112 | ||
| Wren | 53 | 1389 | 94 | 73 | 119 | ||
| Magpie | 53 | 1059 | 100 | 62 | 165 | ||
| Reed Warbler | 53 | 81 | 105 | 28 | 369 | ||
| Coot | 53 | 152 | 108 | 47 | 482 | ||
| Chiffchaff | 53 | 904 | 113 | 75 | 161 | ||
| Jackdaw | 53 | 954 | 146 | 67 | 301 | ||
| Mallard | 53 | 732 | 150 | 88 | 208 | ||
| Woodpigeon | 53 | 1334 | 153 | 28 | 471 | ||
| Mute Swan | 53 | 140 | 277 | 67 | 682 | ||
| Nuthatch | 53 | 316 | 299 | 195 | 461 | ||
| Blackcap | 53 | 958 | 373 | 296 | 479 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 53 | 627 | 403 | 242 | 650 |
| 5b. Table of population increases of >50% for England CBC/BBS 1967-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin | 53 | 1072 | 61 | 44 | 80 | ||
| Coal Tit | 53 | 344 | 69 | 3 | 216 | ||
| Reed Warbler | 53 | 76 | 81 | 28 | 224 | ||
| Great Tit | 53 | 1023 | 84 | 62 | 109 | ||
| Long-tailed Tit | 53 | 514 | 93 | 42 | 190 | ||
| Wren | 53 | 1094 | 97 | 67 | 124 | ||
| Pheasant | 53 | 854 | 106 | 66 | 181 | ||
| Coot | 53 | 137 | 109 | 38 | 402 | ||
| Magpie | 53 | 890 | 111 | 67 | 164 | ||
| Chiffchaff | 53 | 760 | 112 | 72 | 181 | ||
| Carrion Crow | 53 | 1081 | 130 | 89 | 181 | Includes Hooded | |
| Green Woodpecker | 53 | 427 | 133 | 76 | 229 | ||
| Goldfinch | 53 | 785 | 136 | 72 | 209 | ||
| Jackdaw | 53 | 769 | 145 | 63 | 306 | ||
| Woodpigeon | 53 | 1065 | 168 | 35 | 484 | ||
| Mallard | 53 | 612 | 170 | 113 | 248 | ||
| Stock Dove | 53 | 431 | 253 | . | . | ||
| Mute Swan | 53 | 120 | 272 | 43 | 798 | ||
| Blackcap | 53 | 816 | 316 | 242 | 424 | ||
| Nuthatch | 53 | 273 | 326 | 200 | 508 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 53 | 546 | 339 | 215 | 622 | ||
| Buzzard | 53 | 405 | 838 | 531 | 2760 |
This report should be cited as: Massimino, D., Woodward, I.D., Hammond, M.J., Barber, L., Barimore, C., Harris, S.J., Leech, D.I., Noble, D.G., Walker, R.H., Baillie, S.R. & Robinson, R.A. (2020) BirdTrends 2020: trends in numbers, breeding success and survival for UK breeding birds. BTO Research Report 732. BTO, Thetford. www.bto.org/birdtrends
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