Bird populations have long been considered by scientists to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife because birds occupy a wide range of habitats, they tend to be near or at the top of food chains and there are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations from a range of national surveys and monitoring schemes coordinated by expert organisations. Birds also have huge cultural importance and are viewed as a highly valued part of England’s natural environment by the general public.

 Wild bird populations in England 1970-2011 National Statistics Release

These annual statistics present trends up to 2011 in wild bird populations in England and the associated Defra National Statistics Release explores the detail behind the following headline results:

Wild bird populations in England , 1970-2011

•  When viewed together, the status of common native breeding bird species in England appear to have changed little compared with 40 years ago. However, there has been considerable variation between individual bird species and groups of species that share the same broad habitats, and there have been some large losses in once abundant species, particularly House Sparrow and Starling. The all-species index showed a small but significant decline of 1 per cent from 2005 to 2010. 
• Although the largest decreases in farmland bird populations occurred between the late seventies and the early nineties, there has been a pronounced recent decline of 11 per cent since 2003. Historically, the decrease has been driven mainly by species that are restricted to, or highly dependent, on farmland habitats (the ‘specialists’). However, there has also been a decline in species that are associated with a wider range of habitats (the ‘generalists’) following a peak in 2006. 
• There has been little recent change in woodland bird populations, with the greatest decline occurring from the late eighties until the mid nineties. In the late nineties populations of generalist species started to increase but the populations of specialist species continued to decline. 
• In 2011 breeding water and wetland bird populations in England were at about the same level as they were in 1975, although there has been a decline of 13 per cent since 2003. 
• There is no clear trend in the populations of breeding seabird populations in England, but in 2011 levels were 5 per cent higher than in 1986 when data collection began. 
• In the winter of 2010-11 populations of wintering waterbirds in England were 105 per cent higher than in the winter of 1975-6; however, there has been an 11 per cent decline in numbers since their peak in 1996-7.

The bird population indices have been compiled in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).

For more statistics about the status of birds populations internationally please see the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme website.

Data Download

Downloads

6 December 2012

• wdfg2-wild-bird-pop-eng-dec2012 (csv, 3 KB)
• Wild birds statistical release 1970-2011 ENGLAND (pdf, 389 KB)