You are here:

Wild Bird Populations 2008: Sustainable Development Strategy and Public Service Agreement Indicators

National Statistics logo

STATISTICAL RELEASE

Ref: 250/09
Date: 29 October 2009

The United Kingdom Government's ‘Sustainable Development’ indicators of wild bird populations have been updated and published to show changes in the breeding populations of common native bird species up to 2008.  These are based on population indices for breeding farmland birds, woodland birds, water and wetland birds, and seabirds. The indicators use unsmoothed trends and are relative to 1970 levels apart from the water and wetland bird indicator which is relative to 1975 levels.

The England natural environment PSA (public service agreement 28) indicators on bird populations have also been published. Indicators are produced for breeding populations of farmland, woodland, and water and wetland birds in England along with an aggregate indicator calculated by combining the three specific habitat indicators. The indicators use smoothed trends and are relative to 1970 levels apart from the water and wetland bird indicator which is relative to 1975 levels. Unsmoothed versions of these indices have also been included for the sake of clarity.

Bird populations are considered to be a good indicator of the broad state of wildlife because birds occupy a wide range of habitats, they tend to be near or at the top of food chains and there is considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations which helps in the interpretation of shorter term fluctuations.

Key Results

SDS indicators for the United Kingdom

  • An overall ‘all bird species’ index for the UK (114 species) increased by 3 per cent between from 1970 to 2008.  
  • The breeding farmland birds index for the UK (19 species) was 47 per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level.  Most of the decline in the farmland birds index occurred between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s.  There was  1 per cent increase between 2007 and 2008.
  • The breeding woodland birds index for the UK (38 species) was 14 per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level, with the greatest declines occurring in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was a 7 per cent increase in woodland bird populations between 2007 and 2008.
  • The breeding water and wetland birds index for the UK (26 species) was 1 per cent higher in 2008 than its 1975 level. There was a 6 per cent increase in the breeding water and wetland birds index between 2007 and 2008.
  • The breeding seabirds index for the UK (19 species) was 27 per cent higher than its 1970 level. The index decreased by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008.

PSA indicators for England

  • The PSA aggregate index is an unweighted aggregation of three smoothed indices of farmland, woodland and water and wetland breeding birds for England.  In 2008 the aggregate index was 24 per cent below its 1970 level. The index decreased by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
  • The smoothed farmland birds index for England (19 species) was 52 per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level and there was  a 2 per cent decrease in the index between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the index decreased by 49 per cent between 1970 and 2008 but increased by 4 per cent between 2007 and 2008).
  • The smoothed woodland birds index for England (35 species) was 21 per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level. The index was unchanged between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the index for England decreased by 20 per cent between 1970 and 2008 and decreased by 2 per cent between 2007 and 2008).
  • The smoothed water and wetland birds index for England (26 species) was 13 per cent higher in 2008 than its 1975 level. The index decreased by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the index for England increased by 12 per cent between 1975 and 2008 and increased by 4 per cent between 2007 and 2008).

The full statistical release can be found at: www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/statistics/environment/wildlife/kf/wdkf03.htm

 

 National Statistics publication

National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure that they meet customer needs. They are produced free from any political interference.

 

 

 

 

End

Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR
Out of hours telephone 020 7270 8960

Public enquiries: 08459 335577
News releases available on our website:
www.defra.gov.uk
Defra's aim is sustainable development

Page published: 29 October 2009