Tuesday 16 May 2023

Wild British birds drop by 73m in 50 years

Wild British birds drop by 73m in 50 years

The number of wild birds in the UK has fallen by 73 million since 1970.

That’s according to a study by the British Ornithology Trust (BTO), linking the decline to habitat loss and climate change.

The findings have been backed up by data from Birda, revealing that just one fifth of Brits have seen three different species of bird where they live.

Even for more common types of bird, the numbers are dwindling – with 17% of UK residents stating they have only ever seen a pigeon, crow or gull near their home.

In addition to this, many respondents to the research said they would love to do more to conserve nature and protect species but 31% had no idea how to go about doing this.

John and Natalie White, Co-Founders at Birda, said: “We believe that people need to experience the natural world before they fight to protect it. We believe that nature is for everyone and we know that spending time connecting with it makes people happier and healthier.”

The BTO claims that the British breeding population has fallen overall from 232 million 50 years ago to 159 million today.

It stated: “A degree of detective work was required to assemble the different sources of information, particularly as recording was more fragmented back in 1970. Recording birds on such a large scale isn’t easy and some numbers are difficult to ascertain. While this adds a degree of uncertainty to the figures for some species, we can be confident in the overall picture of loss.”

Written by

Bruna Pinhoni

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