The UK is home to 73 million fewer birds today than it was in 1970, according to research from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) published today, International Dawn Chorus Day. This staggering number – a decline of almost a third – is almost impossible to comprehend, but many older people will be aware of the disappearance of certain species, such as Cuckoo and Turtle Dove, from their local area. Alongside this headline figure, BTO has created a website so that anyone can discover which species would once have been on their doorstep but are now a distant memory, simply by entering their postcode. Almost 30 million House Sparrows, 20 million Starlings, 4 million Skylarks, 2 million Blackbirds and 1 million Chaffinches have vanished from the UK since 1970, scientists found by comparing the results of BTO-led surveys from across a 50 year period. The results paint a shocking picture of loss, with familiar birds as well as rarer species disappearing from our towns and countryside at an unprecedented rate. The estimated losses actually total 114 million individuals (or 57 million breeding pairs). The losses are masked in part by increases in certain other species, including some familiar residents (e.g. Wren, Woodpigeon and Blackcap), and new arrivals (e.g. Little Egret and Cetti’s Warbler). The growing numbers of these species, which result in gains of c. 41 million individuals, do not compensate for the extraordinary losses overall, resulting in a net loss of 73 million individuals. Head to Birds on Your Doorstep to find out which species have been lost where you live. Professor Juliet Vickery, BTO Chief Executive, says, “BTO’s wealth of data means we can confidently report this alarming drop in the UK’s breeding bird population. Presenting these results at the local level, so that anyone can see the changes that have happened on their doorstep simply by entering their postcode, delivers a powerful message that the UK’s birds are in trouble, and that we all need to do more. In the last 50 years, my own area of Cambridgeshire farmland has experienced some of the highest declines of species in Britain and Ireland. I can no longer hope to hear Nightingales singing or enjoy House Martins quite literally sharing my home. Future generations may well not hear or see Song Thrushes, Cuckoos or Kestrels in the area either. We must all do more to reverse these relentless declines and we need to do it urgently.” Dr Rob Robinson, BTO Associate Director of Science, who led on the project, says, “Some detective work was required to assemble different sources of information, particularly as recording was more fragmented back in 1970. Counting birds on such a large scale isn’t easy and some numbers are difficult to ascertain. However, we’re lucky to have the help of thousands of highly skilled volunteers who have seen for themselves the way that birds have disappeared from UK landscapes.”

The first Cuckoo from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Cuckoo Tracking Project to arrive back in the UK reached his breeding grounds in Wales over the weekend, researchers revealed today. The bird, named JAC, arrived near the Welsh town of Llangollen, marking the end of an extraordinary 12,000 km round trip between the UK and the rainforests of central Africa, where JAC and the other BTO Cuckoos spent the winter. JAC is one of more than 100 Cuckoos to have been fitted with a lightweight satellite tag by BTO scientists investigating the behaviour of these remarkable birds. The project, now in its 12th year, has revealed the different routes the species takes on migration and a range of factors that may be responsible for its decline in the UK. We’ve lost more than a third of our Cuckoos since the mid-1990s, putting this once ubiquitous bird and its mesmerising song at risk of disappearing from the UK altogether. After spending the winter in the Democratic Republic of Congo, JAC began his long journey back to the UK on 22 February. First he flew almost 2,000 km north-west to Nigeria and then another 1,400 km west to Guinea, where he spent a month feeding up in preparation for the arduous Sahara crossing ahead. JAC’s non-stop flight over the world’s largest desert came at the end of March, after which he arrived in his next staging area, the mountains of southern Spain. JAC was tagged in June 2021 close to where he is right now (Cuckoos return to the same area each year to breed). He is named in loving memory of Professor Jenny Clack, a palaeontologist widely acknowledged as the leading authority on the evolution of land vertebrates from fish. The name was chosen by Jenny’s husband Rob, who said: ‘It seemed appropriate I should contribute to this important scientific study of Cuckoos in memory of a top-class scientist, whom I adored.’ Dr Chris Hewson, BTO Cuckoo Tracking Project lead, says, It’s great to see JAC back at his breeding site, blazing the trail for the other tagged cuckoos following in his wake. Forthcoming results from this project examine what determines when the Cuckoos arrive back to the UK, and highlights some of the stresses that these birds are under trying to keep pace with climate change and the need to arrive back in time for ever-earlier springs. Every migration we track adds to our growing knowledge of these birds’ lives and helps us to understand how we can best help them to adapt to our rapidly changing world. Dr Ieuan Evans, BTO Director of Engagement, says, The return of the first BTO Cuckoo each year is always cause for celebration. But, like many long-distance migrants, this species is in steep decline in the UK. We urgently need to learn more about the challenges Cuckoos face here and elsewhere in their range. Through this project we have revealed the wintering grounds of UK Cuckoos and the routes they take to get there and back. Our scientific research has shown that a Cuckoo’s chances of survival are strongly impacted by the route it takes between the UK and Africa. With improved information we stand a much better chance of conserving this magical species. Follow all the BTO Cuckoos and learn more about the migration tracking project.

Following a meeting of more than 100 experts, a report into the continuing Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI or ‘bird flu’) outbreak has been published by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The report lays bare the impact of the disease on wild birds and identifies knowledge gaps that need to be addressed for the effective conservation of vulnerable species. It will inform the ongoing response to a disease that continues to have a devastating impact on vulnerable populations of wild birds. HPAI has caused mass mortalities in the UK’s internationally important wild waterbirds and seabirds since the current outbreak began in October 2021. Across the UK, more than 60 species have been affected, and data collected by the governments’ country conservation bodies, other organisations and volunteers indicates that many more than 20,000 wild birds have died. Especially badly affected species include wintering Barnacle Geese on the Solway Firth, breeding Great Skuas in northern Scotland, and Gannets in colonies around the UK coast. Great Britain and Ireland are home to more than 50% of the world population of both Great Skuas and Gannets, so these impacts are of global significance. Recognising the global spread of HPAI, JNCC and BTO invited animal health experts, virologists, ecologists and conservation practitioners to a two-day workshop to assess the impact of the disease, discuss management options and identify information needs. Access the HPAI report The report identifies three major knowledge gaps which urgently need addressing. First, we need a better understanding of how the virus spreads between individual birds. Second, we need to be able to accurately assess the scale of losses at our internationally important seabird colonies, and finally, we need to determine the best practical approaches to managing and mitigating future outbreaks. The report also highlights just how well existing monitoring schemes have worked to identify species that have been particularly badly affected. Reports of dead birds carrying uniquely-numbered metal leg rings, for example, have revealed extremely high mortality compared to previous years for seven species: Gannet, Great Skua, Guillemot, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Kittiwake and Mute Swan. The monitoring of wild bird populations remains critical if we are to fully understand the impact of HPAI and deliver conservation solutions. Seabird experts, including those involved in the national seabird monitoring scheme, the BTO/JNCC Seabird Monitoring Programme, have assessed which species and sites need monitoring in the coming breeding season. The report also assessed the potential for different interventions to reduce the impact of bird flu on populations; this suggested that there is probably little that can be done to reduce the spread amongst wild birds, butbirds but highlighted the removal of carcasses of dead infected birds as the intervention most likely in certain circumstances to have an impact, particularly on species that may become infected through by scavenging dead infected birds. Professor James Pearce-Higgins, BTO Director of Science, said, “Over the last year, bird flu has had an unprecedented impact on wild bird populations in the UK. It is vital to prioritise the monitoring of our wild bird populations, so we can identify and conserve the species that are most at risk. In the longer-term, bird conservationists, virologists and the poultry industry need to work closely together to reduce the risk of transmission between domestic and wild birds.” Professor Phil Atkinson, BTO Head of International Research, who organised the workshop, said, “Getting input from over a hundred people from the UK and Europe, as well as from Canada and South Africa, really demonstrates what a global problem bird flu is. Wild birds are an unfortunate victim of this global pandemic.” Dr Helen Baker, Marine Species Team Leader at JNCC, who co-led the workshop, said, “It is important that we work together within the UK, and internationally, to understand the virus, share knowledge and work out how best to adapt conservation solutions to protect and recover vulnerable species. Whilst there may be few interventions that can prevent the spread of bird flu in the short-term, we need to consider longer-term action and where feasible trial new approaches and learn from the results.”

A new paper by RSPB and BTO researchers calls for the focus to shift from diagnosis to treatment of migrant bird declines Birds that breed in Europe and winter in Africa have declined by more than 25% since 1980, though the reasons why remain unclear Measures including tree planting and protection from hunting are likely to have a positive impact We must act now to stop the long-term declines of birds that migrate between Europe and Africa, argues a new peer-reviewed study by scientists from the RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). Despite decades of research into the reasons for these declines, our understanding of them remains incomplete largely due to the complexities of studying species on an inter-continental scale throughout the year and across the flyway. This is delaying conservation action. The authors call for the focus to shift now from research to practical conservation measures, using the knowledge we have already. Continued declines of familiar species including Cuckoo, Swift and Turtle Dove are evidence that time is running out. The new study calls for action to improve wintering and breeding habitats across Europe and Africa. Such intervention is likely to make the biggest difference for the greatest number of species, it says. Examples include planting and conserving native trees in those regions of Africa that hold wintering migrants, targeted measures at significant locations where birds stop to refuel during migration, and protecting some species from hunting along the full course of their migration routes. Birds that leave Europe after the breeding season to spend the winter in Africa have seen their numbers drop by more than 25% since 1980, with many species experiencing significantly worse declines. The reasons why remain unclear, in part because the birds cover huge distances on their awe-inspiring journeys, are dependent on different sites at different times of year, and occupy vast wintering ranges. These factors make it very difficult to identify the pressures faced by individual species and to establish whether poor levels of breeding success or low adult survival rates are to blame for the declines. The last few years have been a golden age in migrant research, and we have learnt a lot since the last review in 2014. This is especially the case in the use of new tracking technologies, through which we now have far more information regarding the migratory behaviour and routes of migrant birds. However, despite these advances, we still don’t understand what is driving the declines of most of these species. Although there have been significant advances in priority research areas, including tracking technologies and assessment of ground cover change, these have not led to new conservation approaches. The time has come to begin putting what we know into practice, argues the new study. If we wait until our understanding of these birds’ declines is complete, it may already be too late. BTO Chief Executive Professor Juliet Vickery, lead author on the paper, said, “Our declining migrant birds need action. Although it remains important to continue some diagnostic research, particularly tagging and tracking birds, resources need to be focused on trialling solutions based on what we know already. This is not just about the conservation of individual species but the preservation of a spectacular phenomenon that has inspired humans for generations. We must afford a higher priority to addressing the declines of widespread and relatively common birds, not least because these carry a stronger warning about the health of our natural world than is the case for of rare and threatened species.” RSPB Senior Conservation Scientist Dr John Mallord said, “Although we have learnt a lot about migrant birds in the past seven years, we are still no closer to understanding what is driving the declines of most of these species. We need to shift the focus from species-specific diagnostic research and start to use what we do already know to inform conservation actions on the ground.” Read the published paper in the journal IBIS Find out more about BTO's Cuckoo Tracking Project