On a wing and a prayer: Our iconic birds are in danger of extinction
THERE are fears two of our most iconic seabirds could become extinct within the next century, as the number of birds on Ireland’s ‘red list’ of concern is growing.
A paper in the latest issue of Irish Birds, BirdWatch Ireland’s annual scientific journal, revealed more birds than ever before are now red-listed here.
A total of 54 Irish bird species (26% of the total number in the country) are now on the red list, indicating the highest status of concern for their populations.
Two of our seabirds, the puffin and kittiwake, are globally threatened and have declined in Ireland, resulting in their red list status.
With falling populations across their range, there are fears that these two species may become extinct within the next 100 years.
Lesley Lewis of BirdWatch Ireland, co-author of the paper, said: ‘Sadly the results of this review only go to further show how great the biodiversity crisis is. We really are at a tipping point for our birds and we need to realise that, and to act now.’ The review uses a traffic light system to indicate the status of species by dividing them into three lists – red, amber or green, indicating whether a species is of high, medium or low conservation concern, respectively.
The survey is carried out across the island of Ireland, by BirdWatch Ireland in the Republic and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the North.
Since the previous assessment in 2013, a total of 23 species have moved onto the red list and only six species have left it. New entries in the red zone include the puffin, razorbill, kittiwake, knot, snipe, and kestrel. These species join others such as the curlew, ring ouzel and corncrake, which are now at risk of extinction here.
An additional 79 species (37%) are ‘amber-listed’, and 78 are on the green list (i.e. not currently considered at risk).
The assessment is based on the most up-to-date information available, and the criteria mainly follow previous assessments of conservation status at global, European and national levels.
Almost 40% of the red-listed breeding birds are associated with farmland, including the corncrake, curlew, lapwing, barn owl, stock dove and grey partridge. Breeding snipe, which were amber-listed in the previous assessment, are now on the red list.
The report warns that smallscale ongoing drainage and reclamation of marginal farmland and bog habitats are likely to be a key factor in their continued decline. It says the threats to their survival are complex, but climate change is a significant factor.
Ms Lewis said: ‘We know from many small, locally led projects that habitat protection, restoration and creation can make huge differences, so there is hope that the current trends can be reversed; if not, what will the next assessment in five years show?’
‘What will next assessment show?’