Wild Bird Populations in England, 1970 to 2010
Bird populations have long been considered by scientists to provide a good indication 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 are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations from a range of national surveys and monitoring schemes coordinated by expert organisations. Birds also have huge cultural importance and are viewed as a highly valued part of England’s natural environment by the general public.
Wild bird populations in England 1970-2010 National Statistics Release
These annual statistics present trends up to 2010 in wild bird populations in England and the associated Defra National Statistics Release explores the detail behind the following headline results:
Wild bird populations in England , 1970-2010
- Overall breeding bird populations in England have changed little compared with 40 years ago. In 2010 they were just above what they were in 1970, following a small decline of 1.5 per cent in the most recent five years, from 2004 to 2009. However this masks considerable variation between individual bird species and groups of species that share the same broad habitats.
- In 2010 breeding farmland bird populations in England were at the lowest level ever recorded, at less than half (48 per cent) of what they were in 1970. Most of the declines occurred between the late seventies and the early nineties, but there had also been a decline of ten per cent overall in the most recent five years, from 2004 to 2009.
- Breeding woodland bird populations in England were 20 per cent lower in 2010 than what they were in 1970. The greatest decline of woodland birds occurred from the late eighties until the mid nineties, but there had been little change in the most recent five years, from 2004 to 2009.
- In 2010 breeding water and wetland bird populations in England were at about the same level as they were in 1975. However populations have fluctuated and had shown a decline of 3.5 per cent overall in the most recent five years, 2004 to 2009.
- Breeding seabird populations in England in 2010 were 3.3 per cent higher than in 1986 and had increased by 5.6 per cent overall in the most recent five years, 2004 to 2009.
- In the winter of 2009-10 populations of wintering waterbirds in England were 85 per cent higher than in the winter of 1975-6. However, populations had been higher and had shown an overall decline of 7.1 per cent over the most recent five winters, from 2003-4 to 2008-9.
The bird population indices have been compiled in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).