Garden bird decline ‘is slowing’
Conservation efforts and more sympathetic farming practices are starting to pay off as the latest audit of British birds has found populations are beginning to stabilise. However, the State of the UK’s Birds report says more is needed to reverse dramatic declines since the 1970s. Native breeding pairs are staying roughly constant at 83 million since the last analysis in 2017
– but that’s still 19 million fewer pairs than 50 years ago.
“There’s a lot of amazing conservation going on now across the agricultural landscape,” says report co-author and conservation scientist Dr Fiona Burns, “but the figures are still going the wrong way.” In gardens, goldfinches are enjoying a boom – in 1995, they were spotted in 10 per cent of gardens compared with 60 per cent now, but chaffinch sightings are down from 80 per cent to 60 per cent, and greenfinch sightings from 80 per cent to 40 percent. Broadcaster and Urban Birder David Lindo says even the tiniest garden has its part to play: “Setting aside a square foot to run wild provides habitat and seeds.” For more information, see bit.ly/uk-birds-report