Natural History Wanderings

BBC Nature report on a study showing that the bird population in the UK has declined 44 million since 1966. The study by experts from  Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the British Trust for Ornithology estimated that there are now about 166 million birds nesting in the UK versus 210 million in 1966. Findings included

• Certain species had increased in number, populations of some common birds had diminished dramatically.
• House sparrows were down 20 million from the 1960’s but had experienced the a slight increase since 2000
• More species breed in England than in the 1960’s
• Changes in landscape maybe most responsible for the population decline dues to loss of habitat for feeding and nesting
• Birds dependent on farmlands such as lapwings, cuckoos and turtle doves  all of which have experience significant declines)
• Species that have done well include wood pigeon, collared doves and great spotted woodpecker

Learn more at:  BBC Nature – UK bird population down by 44m since 1966, report finds.