Fifth of birds at risk of extinction in EU
A NEW assessment of European birds has revealed that nearly one fifth (18 per cent) are considered to be at risk of extinction across the European Union with habitat loss, climate change and increasingly intensive farming being key causes of threat.
This list of threatened species includes 37 birds, including lapwing, puffin and curlew, which occur regularly in the UK.
The European Red List of Birds assesses birds across two geographical levels: the European Union (except Croatia); and the wider continent of Europe (stretching from Greenland eastwards across Europe to Turkey and European Russia).
Martin Harper is the RSPB’s conservation director.
Commenting on the publication of the new European bird assessments, he said: “These red list assessments provide another red warning that nature across Europe is in trouble. It would have been unthinkable 20 years ago that birds like lapwing and curlew would be threatened species in Europe – the status of many species is deteriorating across Europe. However, conservation action across Europe, guided by the Birds Directive is helping species like the stone-curlew, Dalmatian pelican, avocet and crane.”
Birds in the UK: Of 246 regularly-occurring birds in the UK, 37 species have been assessed as at risk of extinction in the European Union. The Balearic shearwater, a regular seabird visitor from the Mediterranean to UK shores, is listed as critically endangered: the highest category of threat.
Other species such as the black-tailed godwit, eider, Arctic skua and kittiwake are listed as endangered: the second highest category of threat.
Birds in the European Union (EU27): 18 per cent of the 451 species assessed across the EU27 are threatened. Of the 82 species: 11 are critically endangered; 16 endangered and 55 vulnerable.
Birds across the wider continent of
Europe: 67 (13pc) of the 533 species assessed are threatened across the wider continent of Europe. Ten species are critically endangered (the highest threat level) including sociable lapwing, yellow-breasted bunting, and slenderbilled curlew. The study also found that 18 species are endangered and an additional 39 vulnerable.
Still in trouble: The conservation status of some species that were identified as being in trouble a decade ago haven’t improved. This list
includes: Egyptian vulture, aquatic warbler, greater spotted eagle and little bustard.
Improving: a total of 20 species were previously considered regionally threatened and are now classified as least concern in Europe. These include some charismatic species, such as Dalmatian pelican, ferruginous duck, stone-curlew, black kite, lesser kestrel, blackthroated diver and great bustard.
Another 25 species are still threatened in Europe, but now have a lower extinction risk than a decade ago, and have seen their threat level downlisted. For example, Zino’s Petrel and Azores Bullfinch, both previously considered to be critically endangered, are now classified as endangered.
Christina Ieronymidou, the European species programme officer at BirdLife, said: “The European Red List tells us that we have done a decent job at rescuing the rarest species by protecting their last strongholds and taking actions such as eradication of invasive species and insulation of killer powerlines.
“But we are now faced with much bigger challenges, from the ecological degradation of our farmland to climate change. These problems require a much broader and deeper response.”
It is not all bad news though, and as Michael Caine might say, not many people know this but, the aforementioned crane now breeds in England and Scotland, and is seen across the UK on a regular basis.
After a hiatus of several hundred years, a few birds found their way to Norfolk and settled in. In recent years their number has grown thanks to introduced birds from Germany. As recently as Sunday, Cranes were seen in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.