UK migratory birds suffer massive decline

Migratory birds that fly thousands of miles back to the UK from Africa every spring have suffered a massive decline, according to a report.

Some of Britain's best-loved birds have dropped in number by up to 90 per cent in 30 years because of climate change and the rise of modern farming in Africa, scientists have warned.

And the researchers, from the Royal Society for the the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and BirdLife International, warned whole species could be wiped out as climate change gets worse.

The study, to be published in the journal Biological Conservation, analysed numbers of breeding birds in every European country and found birds that have to fly over the Sahara desert to reach their winter feeding grounds have fared much worse than related birds that do not migrate.

Of 121 long-distance migratory species studied, 54 per cent have declined or become extinct in many areas since 1970.

The numbers of spotted flycatchers in Britain has fallen by 86 per cent since 1966 and the turtle dove population is down 79 per cent, while the wryneck and red-backed shrike no longer breed in the UK.

The birds breed in northern Europe but spend their winters in an area south of the Sahara called the Sahel, which has seen a huge increase in intensive farming techniques and the use of insectides, which can kill insect-eating birds.

The region has also suffered a severe drought and some of it has turned into desert. At the same time the Sahara has got bigger and as birds have to fly over it in one go they may find it more difficult to make it to the other side.

But the biggest effect is probably rising temperatures and milder winters in Europe, according to Dr Paul Donald, senior research bilogist at the RSPB and one of the report's authors.

This has meant insects have started to breed earlier, so by the time migratory birds return to breed they have missed the peak in insects that chicks depend on. There are also fewer good nesting sites as the non-migratory birds are surviving the winters better.

Dr Donald said: "We've known for some time now that poulations of many species in our country are in decline. What the new research shows is that that's happening across Europe.

"Even in Eastern Europe where there's less pressure from intensive farming we're still seeing a decline in many migratory birds compared with resident birds.

"It is very worrying. Just what we've lost so far is newsworthy, but what's more important is there's evidence to show that climate change is kicking them back both here and in Africa.

"If that's the case then the already massive decline we've seen is nothing more than a foretaste of what's to come, because we know climate change is going to get worse.

"We could see whole species stripped away from Europe. Some species have declined 80 or 90 per cent, so what's going to happen in 50 years? The affects of climate change on wildlife is going to be far worse than we ever imagined."

Dr Donald added: "Of the 20 most rapidly declining species in the UK just over a half are long-distance migratory, but of the 20 most rapidly increasing all 20 are resident non-migratory birds.

"For some of these birds there's been no drop in quality of habitat, so it's pretty clear it must be something to do with climate change that's causing the decline."

However, there is also proof that conservation work for endangered species can help stop the decline, the researcher said.

Numbers of the roseate tern, one of Britain's rarest sea birds, dropped by 90 per cent between 1969 and 1992, but the population has been stabilised after action in Ghana to stop people trapping them.

Ospreys, which became extinct in the UK, have been successfully reintroduced, and a similar scheme for white storks in Europe has seen populations increase after a fall.

The RSPB is calling on governments to take pay for more conservation projects

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