‘Shocking and sobering’: UK bird populations fall to lowest level on record

‘Shocking and sobering’: UK bird populations fall to lowest level on record

Report

Nearly half of species are in decline, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit, conservation bodies say

Report

Wild bird populations in the UK have fallen to their lowest level since records began, figures show, with nearly half of species in decline.

Report

Figures produced by leading nature conservation bodies for the government show that average populations across 132 native breeding species fell by 19% between 1970 and 2025, with farmland birds and seabirds the worst hit in recent years.

Report

Prof Richard Gregory, the head of monitoring at the RSPB, called the overall findings “shocking and sobering”.

Report

Average populations of turtle doves have fallen by more than half in five years, showing no sign of the bird recovering from the brink of extinction.

Report

Tree sparrows, wood warblers and capercaillie were among the birds with the next biggest average annual decreases between 2019 and 2024.

Report

Swifts, whose arrival for many marks the beginning of summer, have declined by about 25% in five years, an average of nearly 6% a year across the UK.

Report

Bullfinches fell at a similar rate nationally, and by an average of 11% a year in England.

Report

Of the 132 native breeding species tracked, 45% have declined over the past five years, while just 27% have increased.

Report

In England, 55% of monitored species have declined.

Report

Seabirds are the worst hit group, down by more than a fifth over the past five years.

Report

Dr Ailidh Barnes, who helps build the index at the British Trust for Ornithology, said avian flu had “decimated” species such as Arctic skuas and terns.

Report

The disease spread quickly, she said, because seabirds nested shoulder to shoulder, and each year a different species appeared to suffer.

Report

“There’s a lag of data collection and then data analysis, and now we’re actually seeing that effect coming through,” she said.

Report

Farmland bird populations have decreased by 63% since 1970 and 12% since 2020.

Report

Defra attributes the long-term decline to changes in farming since the 1950s, including the loss of mixed farming (crops and livestock), increased pesticide and fertiliser use, and the removal of hedgerows.

Report

Despite the general decline, some populations are booming.

Report

Red kite populations have risen by 48% since 2019, and firecrests are up 300% over the same period.

Report

Gregory also highlighted the number of cranes “really coming back from extinction in the UK”, rising to 87 pairs nationally.

Report

World’s largest penguin colony suffers ‘enormous population crash’

Report

Floating scarecrows: how Cornish fishers are stopping seabirds drowning in their nets

Report

Tern turnaround: colonies in England show signs of recovery after decline

Report

Science Weekly ‘A break from scrolling’: how Gen Z fell in love with birding – podcast

Report

Birdsong data from Merlin ID app to help global biodiversity project

Report

Listen to Britain’s dawn chorus of 1976: the dramatic loss of birdsong in 50 years

Report

A little bird told her: scientist wins $100,000 prize for decoding birdsong

Report