There is growing evidence that climate change is shifting the timing of migration for migrant birds, but we have surprisingly little information on what these changes mean for them. The timing and duration of a migratory flight is likely to determine the environmental conditions that an individual will encounter on its journey, and this may have important consequences. It may encounter unfavourable weather conditions or discover that a traditional stopover site doesn’t hold the expected resources, because the bird has arrived too early or too late.

The identification of the Usutu virus in Greater London in the summer of 2020 raises questions about the extent of the incursion and its impacts on wild bird populations.

Projected increases in the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events are likely to have important consequences for species and the wider communities of which they are a part. Understanding the impacts of such events on the complex relationships that exist between the species within a particular ecosystem, and which themselves influence the stability and functioning of that ecosystem, is a conservation priority.

Tree planting can contribute to the fight against both climate change and biodiversity loss if forests are planned and managed well. Forest structure data, collected using remote sensing technology, combined with bird surveys has been used to test which management regimes maximise bird diversity in managed plantations. Forests with stands of a greater variety of ages are consistently more biodiverse, suggesting that forest managers should prioritise maintaining a diversity of stand ages.

Understanding the impacts of climate change relies on an evidence base generated by the thousands of volunteers who participate in biodiversity monitoring. However, survey participation often carries its own carbon footprint, especially where participants travel to and from survey sites by car. Whilst it is essential that we have accurate information about how wildlife is faring in this changing world, we also need to be mindful of any side effects of our scientific activities. A key step is to estimate the emissions produced during biodiversity monitoring.

Funding incentives have been used in agriculture and forestry to deliver policy objectives, including the support of biodiversity conservation. Understanding the effectiveness of such approaches requires the collection of baseline monitoring data, both from participating sites and those not in the scheme.