UK Bird Numbers Hit Record Low as 45 Percent of Species Decline
(MENAFN) Wild bird populations across the UK have sunk to their lowest level since records began, with nearly half of all monitored species in decline, according to combined figures published Tuesday by leading conservation bodies.
Average numbers across 132 native breeding species have dropped 19% between 1970 and 2025, according to a national daily newspaper. Farmland birds and seabirds are among the hardest-hit groups.
Professor Richard Gregory, head of monitoring at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), called the findings “shocking and sobering.”
Over the past five years alone, 45% of the 132 species tracked have declined, while 27% have increased. In England, the picture is bleaker, with 55% of monitored species in decline.
Several well-known species have suffered sharply. Turtle dove numbers have more than halved in five years, and tree sparrows, wood warblers and capercaillie have also recorded significant losses. Swifts have fallen by about 25% over the same period, with bullfinches dropping at a similar rate nationally.
Seabirds have lost more than a fifth of their population in five years. Dr. Ailidh Barnes of the British Trust for Ornithology said avian flu had “decimated” species including Arctic skuas and terns.
Farmland birds have seen the steepest long-term collapse, down 63% since 1970 and 12% since 2020.
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) links the long-term decline to shifts in farming practice, including the loss of mixed farming, heavier use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the removal of hedgerows.
Average numbers across 132 native breeding species have dropped 19% between 1970 and 2025, according to a national daily newspaper. Farmland birds and seabirds are among the hardest-hit groups.
Professor Richard Gregory, head of monitoring at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), called the findings “shocking and sobering.”
Over the past five years alone, 45% of the 132 species tracked have declined, while 27% have increased. In England, the picture is bleaker, with 55% of monitored species in decline.
Several well-known species have suffered sharply. Turtle dove numbers have more than halved in five years, and tree sparrows, wood warblers and capercaillie have also recorded significant losses. Swifts have fallen by about 25% over the same period, with bullfinches dropping at a similar rate nationally.
Seabirds have lost more than a fifth of their population in five years. Dr. Ailidh Barnes of the British Trust for Ornithology said avian flu had “decimated” species including Arctic skuas and terns.
Farmland birds have seen the steepest long-term collapse, down 63% since 1970 and 12% since 2020.
The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) links the long-term decline to shifts in farming practice, including the loss of mixed farming, heavier use of pesticides and fertilizers, and the removal of hedgerows.
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