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WILD BIRD POPULATIONS 2008
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY and PUBLIC SERVICE AGREEMENT INDICATORS
29 October 2009
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Nobel House 17 Smith Square London SW1P 3JR Telephone +44 (0) 20 7238 6609 Internet service www.defra.gov.uk
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The United Kingdom Government's ‘Sustainable Development’ indicators of
wild bird populations have been updated and published to show changes in
the breeding populations of common native bird species up to 2008. These
are based on population indices for breeding farmland birds, woodland birds,
water and wetland birds, and seabirds. The indicators use unsmoothed trends
and are relative to 1970 levels apart from the water and wetland bird indicator
which is relative to 1975 levels.
The England natural environment PSA (public service agreement 28)
indicators on bird populations have also been published. Indicators are
produced for breeding populations of farmland, woodland, and water and
wetland birds in England along with an aggregate indicator calculated by
combining the three specific habitat indicators. The indicators use smoothed
trends and are relative to 1970 levels apart from the water and wetland bird
indicator which is relative to 1975 levels. Unsmoothed versions of these
indices have also been included for the sake of clarity.
Bird populations are considered to be a good indicator 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 is considerable long-term data on changes
in bird populations which helps in the interpretation of shorter term
fluctuations.
Key Results
i. SDS indicators for the United Kingdom • An overall ‘all bird species’ index for the UK (114 species) increased by 3
per cent between from 1970 to 2008.
• The breeding farmland birds index for the UK (19 species) was 47 per
cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level. Most of the decline in the farmland
birds index occurred between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s. There was a
2 per cent increase between 2007 and 2008.
• The breeding woodland birds index for the UK (38 species) was 14 per
cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level, with the greatest declines occurring
in the late 1980s and early 1990s. There was a 7 per cent increase in
woodland bird populations between 2007 and 2008.
• The breeding water and wetland birds index for the UK (26 species) was
1 per cent higher in 2008 than its 1975 level. There was a 6 per cent
increase in the breeding water and wetland birds index between 2007 and
2008.
• The breeding seabirds index for the UK (19 species) was 27 per cent
higher than its 1970 level. The index decreased by 1 per cent between
2007 and 2008.
ii. PSA indicators for England
• The PSA aggregate index is an unweighted aggregation of three
smoothed indices of farmland, woodland and water and wetland breeding
birds for England. In 2008 the aggregate index was 24 per cent below its
1970 level. The index decreased by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
• The smoothed1 farmland birds index for England (19 species) was 52
per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level and there was a 2 per cent
decrease in the index between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the
index decreased by 49 per cent between 1970 and 2008 but increased by
4 per cent between 2007 and 2008).
• The smoothed1 woodland birds index for England (35 species) was 21
per cent lower in 2008 than its 1970 level. The index was unchanged
between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the index for England
decreased by 20 per cent between 1970 and 2008 and decreased by 2 per
cent between 2007 and 2008).
1 The smoothing catches the long term pattern in the data and reduces the difference between peaks and troughs in the time series. Thus, each data point is affected by the neighbouring data points and it may cause smooth and unsmoothed series to move in opposite directions in recent years. The smoothing process used for estimating population trends may exaggerate changes at the end of a time series, as these end values do not receive the dampening effect of data in subsequent years. .
• The smoothed1 water and wetland birds index for England (26 species)
was 13 per cent higher in 2008 than its 1975 level. The index decreased
by 1 per cent between 2007 and 2008 (prior to smoothing the index for
England increased by 12 per cent between 1975 and 2008 and increased
by 4 per cent between 2007 and 2008).
SDS indicators for United Kingdom
Figure 1: Populations of wild birds, 1970 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of
species
‘All bird species’ index for UK
The ‘all bird species’ index of wild bird populations for the UK has remained
broadly stable over the last 38 years (Figure 1). The most substantial
increases have been shown by Avocet, Buzzard, Collared Dove, Great
Spotted Woodpecker, Peregrine, Great Skua, Woodlark, Cetti’s Warbler and
Dartford Warbler.
Some species have seen marked declines in their populations: e.g. Corn
Bunting, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Tit, Grey Partridge, Lesser Redpoll, Tree
Sparrow and Turtle Dove. Although the populations of farmland and woodland
birds have declined, birds of other habitat groups such as seabirds (see later),
also represented in the index, have increased on average since 1970.
Breeding farmland birds index for the UK
The farmland birds index for the UK increased by 2 per cent between 2007
and 2008 (Figure 2). This is the first annual increase in the farmland birds
index since 2003. Despite this, the index was 47 per cent lower in 2008 than
its 1970 level.
Figure 2: Populations of farmland birds, 1970 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of species
A breakdown of the farmland bird index into indices for generalist and
specialist species shows that the longer term fall in the index was principally
driven by declines in specialist species, although there were increases of 2
per cent and 3 per cent between 2007 and 2008 for the farmland specialists
and the farmland generalists respectively.
For some of the farmland specialists, such as Tree Sparrow, Corn Bunting,
Turtle Dove, Grey Partridge, and Starling, populations have declined by over
70 per cent relative to levels in 1970. By contrast, Goldfinch and Stock Dove,
which are also farmland specialists, increased by more than 50 per cent over
the same period.
Among the farmland generalists, there has been a marked increase in the
populations of Jackdaw and Woodpigeon, with their respective populations
doubling relative to their 1970 levels. Conversely, the population of Yellow
Wagtail has declined since the mid-1980s to less than 30 per cent of its 1970
level.
Breeding woodland birds index for the UK
The woodland bird index increased by 7 per cent between 2007 and 2008
following a 4 per cent increase between 2006 and 2007 (Figure 3). Although
the index increased in recent years, in 2008, it was 14 per cent below its 1970
level.
Figure 3: Populations of woodland birds, 1970 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of
species
The indices for both woodland generalists and woodland specialists increased
between 2007 and 2008, by 3 per cent and 9 per cent respectively.
Many of the woodland species with decreases in their indices, were woodland
specialists (those that breed or feed mainly or solely in woodland), for
example, Lesser Redpoll, Spotted Flycatcher, Willow Tit, Marsh Tit, Wood
Warbler and Tree Pipit all saw reductions of more than 70 per cent in their
respective breeding populations relative to 1970 levels. However, populations
of other woodland specialists such as Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch,
Blackcap and Green Woodpecker more than doubled between 1970 and
2008.
Breeding water and wetland birds index for the UK
The breeding water and wetland birds index for the UK has changed little
between 1975 and 2008, with the index 1 per cent higher in 2008 than its
1975 value (Figure 4). There have been yearly fluctuations in the index and it
increased by 6 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Figure 4: Breeding water and wetland birds, 1975 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of
species
Cetti’s Warbler, Mallard, Coot, Gossander, Tufted Duck and Little Egret
populations more than doubled between 1975 and 2008 whereas populations
of Yellow Wagtail, Snipe and Reed Bunting decreased by more than 50 per
cent between 1975 and 2008.
Breeding seabirds index for the UK
The seabird index for the UK increased by 27 per cent between 1970 and
2008, (Figure 5). The index increased between 1970 and 1987. From 1987
onwards the seabird index has fluctuated between 22 and 42 per cent above
the 1970 level, without showing any clear overall trend. Despite this, some
species such as Herring Gull have shown a continual decline and decreased
by 60 per cent between 1970 and 2008, while others such as Arctic Skua and
Black-legged Kittiwake have declined rapidly following earlier increases,
decreasing by 71 per cent and 48 per cent respectively between 1986 and
2008.
Figure 5: Populations of Seabirds, 1970 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of species
Between 1970 and 2008, Great Skua, Northern Gannet and Common
Guillemot doubled their breeding numbers.
The seabird index (which is derived from counts of breeding adults) may not
yet fully reflect the low breeding success rates observed during recent years,
because seabirds reach maturity only when they are several years old, and
are long-lived.
Public Service Agreement 28 – ‘Biodiversity Indicator’
The Government’s spending review for 2007 (published in October 2007)
included a new Public Service Agreement (PSA28) which seeks to secure a
diverse, healthy and resilient natural environment in England. PSA28 is
supported by a range of indicators including one on biodiversity as indicated
by changes in wild breeding bird populations in England, as a proxy for the
health of wider biodiversity. The indicator is an unweighted aggregation of
three smoothed indices of the breeding populations of farmland, woodland
and water and wetland birds in England relative to 1970 levels.
Figure 6: PSA Delivery Agreement 28 - ‘Biodiversity Indicator’ – Wild breeding
bird population in England, 1970 to 2008
The aggregate index is an unweighted aggregation of three smoothed indices
of farmland, woodland and water and wetland breeding birds for England. In
2008 the aggregate index was 24 per cent below its 1970 level (Figure 6). The
index decreased by 2 per cent between 2006 and 2008 (there was a 1 per
cent decrease between 2005 and 2007).
Figure 7:Component indices of the PSA28 Biodiversity Indicator for farmland,
woodland, water and wetland breeding birds for England, 1970 to 2008
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of species
The three component indices show different long term trends (Figure 7). The
index for water and wetland breeding birds gradually increased from 1975 to
2002, but showed little change between 2002 and 2006. The index decreased
by 2 per cent between 2006 and 2008 (there was a 1 per cent decrease
between 2005 and 2007). The index was 13 per cent higher than its 1975
value.
The index for woodland breeding birds decreased between 1984 and 2003 to
be 77 per cent of the 1970 level and was relatively stable up to 2008. The
index was unchanged between 2006 and 2008 (there was a 1 per cent
increase between 2005 and 2007).
The index for farmland breeding birds declined markedly between the mid-
1970s and the mid-1990s to around 54 per cent of the 1970 level and
declined further to 48 per cent of the 1970 level in 2008, the lowest level
recorded. The index decreased by 5 per cent between 2006 and 2008 (The
decrease between 2005 and 2007 was also 5 per cent).
Figure 8: Component indices of the PSA28 Biodiversity Indicator for farmland,
woodland, water and wetland breeding birds for England, 1970 to 2008 (with
unsmoothed data)
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of
species
The unsmoothed water and wetland birds index for England increased by 12
per cent between 1975 and 2008. The index increased by 4 per cent between
2007 and 2008. The index decreased by 2 per cent between 2006 and 2008
(there was a 4 per cent decrease between 2005 and 2007).
The unsmoothed woodland birds index for England decreased by 20 per cent
between 1970 and 2008. The index decreased by 2 per cent between 2007
and 2008. The index was unchanged between 2006 and 2008 (there was a 2
per cent increase between 2005 and 2007).
The unsmoothed farmland birds index for England decreased by 49 per cent
between 1970 and 2008 but increased by 4 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
The index decreased by 3 per cent between 2006 and 2008 (there was a 9
per cent decrease between 2005 and 2007).
Figure 9: Year on year changes in the aggregate PSA28 Biodiversity Indicator – wild breeding bird populations (1970 to 2008)
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: The vertical ‘error’ bars show the lower and upper 95 per cent confidence limits. Figure 9 shows the percentage change of the smoothed aggregate index
between each year. A value of 0 indicates no change. Any points below the
zero line show a decrease and any points above show an increase in the
population index. The bars show the upper and lower 95% confidence limits
for the year on year change: if they do not overlap the zero line the change is
statistically significant.
Following a period between 2001 and 2005 when there was no significant
year on year change in the aggregate wild bird indicator, there was a
significant decrease each year between 2006 and 2008.
Farmland birds index for England
A smoothed index of farmland bird populations in England is used for
measuring progress against the Government’s 2004 Public Service
Agreement (PSA) target, which seeks to reverse the long-term decline in
farmland birds by 2020. The index for this target is presented relative to the
farmland bird population in 1966.
Figure 10: Populations of farmland birds, 1966 to 2008 (smoothed index)
Source: RSPB, BTO, Defra Note: figures in brackets show the number of
species
The farmland birds index for England showed a period of steep decline
between the mid-1970s and mid-1980s, followed by a shallower decline until
the late 1990s (Figure 10). Following a relatively stable period 1999 and 2004,
the index decreased in recent years. In particular the index fell by almost 1
percentage point each year between 2005 and 2008 relative to the 1966
level2.
In common with the UK situation, the long term decline in the farmland birds
index for England is primarily driven by the farmland specialist (those species
that breed solely or mainly on farmland). Indeed, most of the species that
have experienced major declines in England over the last three decades have
2 The smoothing catches the long term pattern in the data and reduces the difference between peaks and troughs in the time series. Thus, each data point is affected by the neighbouring data points and it may cause smooth and unsmoothed series to move in opposite directions in recent years. The smoothing process used for estimating population trends may exaggerate changes at the end of a time series, as these end values do not receive the dampening effect of data in subsequent years. .
continued to decrease in recent years, including Tree Sparrow, Turtle Dove,
Grey Partridge, Whitethroat, Skylark, Starling, Linnet and Yellowhammer each
of them decreasing by more than 60 per cent.
Declines in farmland birds have been associated with changes in agricultural
practices, including the loss of mixed farming, the switch to autumn sowing of
cereals, increasing use of agro-chemicals, intensification of grassland
management, and loss of field margins and hedges. The farmland bird index
for England also includes trends for 7 increasing farmland species.
The rate of change (Figure 11) during the last four years has become
increasingly negative. The change between 2006 and 2008 shows the
greatest rate of decline since the beginning of the 1990s. However, it is
important to note that the smoothing process used for estimating population
trends may exaggerate changes at the end of a time series, as these end
values do not receive the dampening effect of data in subsequent years. It is
expected that the data will be smoothed further in subsequent revisions. In the
unsmoothed version of this farmland index (not presented here) has increased
by 4 per cent between 2007 and 2008.
Figure 11: Year on year changes in the farmland bird index for England: long term trend (1966 to 2008, 19 farmland bird species)
Note: The vertical ‘error’ bars show the lower and upper 95 per cent confidence limits.
Figure 11 shows the year-on-year changes in the smoothed England farmland
bird index with associated 95 per cent confidence intervals. There has been a
significant decrease in farmland bird populations in England between 2003
and 2008.
Notes to Editors 1. The 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) from a wide range of sources, principally the Common Birds Census (from 1966 to 2000), the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (from 1994 to 2008), the BTO/Environment Agency for England and Wales (EA) Waterways Bird Survey (from 1974-2007), the BTO/EA Waterways Breeding Bird Survey (from 1998-2008), the BTO/Wildfowl & Wetland Trust/RSPB/JNCC Wetland Bird Survey counts, and the Seabird Monitoring Programme and the periodic Seabird censuses supplied by the JNCC, RSPB, SOTEAG (Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group) and other partners. The census sources provide an indication of the average annual rate of change between censuses for some species, and this is assumed to apply to each year-on-year change. 2. The ‘all bird species’ index includes figures for 114 species of breeding birds that are native to the UK, but excludes introduced and rare species. The index portrays the annual changes in abundance of all species since 1970. Within this ‘all species’ index, each species is given equal weighting, and the annual indicator figure is the geometric mean of the species indices for that year. Individual species populations within the index may be increasing or decreasing, irrespective of the overall trends. Species indices are derived by modelling and estimates are revised when new data or improved methodologies are developed and applied retrospectively to earlier years. 3. Following advice from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee based on a review of data for a number of seabirds, the data collected on Black Guillemot was considered to be too sparse and probably unrepresentative to be included. Black Guillemot has been therefore removed from the all-species index bringing the total number of species in the all-species index to 114. 4. The indices are considered to give reliable medium to long-term trends but strong reliance should not be attached to levels for individual years or short term changes from year to year 5. Tables 1 and 2 below give the underlying figures for the UK and England indices respectively. 6. The UK Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy [1] is supported by a range of indicators which are intended to monitor the priority
areas for action identified within the strategy. The wild bird population indicator is one of the 20 ‘UK Framework Indicators’ which cover key impacts and outcomes [2]. 7. As part of the Public Service Agreement 28 (‘the PSA’) Securing a healthy natural environment for today and the future covering the period (April 2008 – March 2011) the Government wants to see biodiversity valued, safeguarded and enhanced. Delivery of PSA28 will be assessed by five headline indicators including: Biodiversity – as measured by data on bird populations in England as a proxy for the health of wider biodiversity. The ‘wild bird’ indicator shows the annual changes in abundance of three groups of species (farmland, woodland and water and wetland breeding birds) since 1970. For each group of species an annual population index is calculated in which each species is given equal weighting regardless of comparative population size or conservation status. Rare and non-native species are excluded. The aggregate wild bird indicator is the average of these three indices. The indicators for PSA are intended to provide a snapshot of progress and they do not fully capture all aspects of the health of the natural environment. They are supported by a broader set of indicators in each of the programmes which contribute to delivering the PSA. 8. The wild bird population indicators, with a breakdown for farmland, woodland, wetland, towns and gardens, coastal and seabirds, are also used for measuring progress of the England Biodiversity Strategy (EBS). 9. The Government's Public Service Agreement (PSA) target to reverse the long-term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020, as measured annually against underlying trends, was adopted in 2004. The farmland bird PSA target will have been achieved when the annual changes in the smoothed index and the associated lower confidence limit for the annual change (using a 95% confidence interval) are both positive. Statistically, a positive annual change is defined when the index and associated 95% confidence intervals are above zero. Although the target could be achieved by a disproportionate increase of some species whilst others were still declining, the Government’s aim is to bring each species into a stable or increasing position and then to safeguard that position. 10. Research completed in 2001 by the BTO and RSPB produced an agreed methodology to measure the annual underlying trend in farmland bird populations. The methodology involves ‘smoothing’ to remove the short-term peaks and troughs due to weather and any sampling error and enables the production of an indicator based on smoothed individual species’ indices. Bootstrapping is used to calculate 95% confidence intervals. It should be noted that although 20 species were originally chosen for the index, an annually updated trend is not yet available for Barn Owl, so for that reason is excluded. 11. Work by the JNCC Seabirds and Cetaceans Unit and the Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland Research Institute (BIOSS) investigating the statistical modelling of seabird population trends lead to a revision of the UK seabird indicator last year. Although the same data from the Seabird Monitoring Programme is used, the mathematical methods used to generate annual indices changed. This, however, resulted in little change in the trend shown by
the seabird indicator and the same methodology has been used again this year. A report on this work will be published in due course. [1] Securing the future. TSO, 2005. [2] Sustainable development indicators in your pocket. Defra, 2009.
Press enquiries 020 7238 6043 ; Public enquiries 08459 335577;
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Defra's aim is sustainable development
End
Table 1: Populations of UK wild birds: 1970 - 2008 (1970 = 100) Note: the index is set at 100 for 1970 and the subsequent figures give relative size of the counts.
Woodland species Farmland species
All species
(114) All (38)
Generalist (12)
Specialist (26)
All (19)
Generalist (7)
Specialist (12)
Seabird species
(19)
Water and Wetland
(26) 1970 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.01971 102.8 104.4 109.3 101.8 103.3 100.2 105.1 104.21972 105.2 108.6 119.2 103.0 103.5 104.3 103.0 105.01973 105.0 107.9 117.8 102.6 100.5 105.1 97.9 108.61974 107.6 108.3 120.8 101.7 101.6 102.4 101.2 110.41975 110.1 109.2 122.8 102.1 106.6 113.3 102.9 113.9 100.01976 108.6 101.8 112.1 96.4 109.0 112.0 107.3 116.9 102.41977 110.4 107.1 110.6 105.1 111.7 114.1 110.3 113.5 107.71978 105.8 99.1 103.2 96.9 103.9 110.8 100.1 114.9 94.91979 101.7 92.4 92.2 92.5 97.9 106.8 93.0 121.8 93.61980 107.0 102.1 103.6 101.2 97.2 103.5 93.7 121.2 99.41981 107.2 103.8 108.9 101.0 93.3 107.2 86.0 122.1 97.81982 99.2 94.1 89.0 97.1 82.2 105.0 71.2 123.6 89.51983 101.5 100.5 101.1 100.2 81.4 105.1 70.1 126.4 97.01984 102.2 99.6 103.2 97.5 80.6 104.6 69.3 127.2 96.91985 99.8 98.4 100.9 97.0 74.3 102.5 61.6 124.9 94.81986 95.0 88.9 89.9 88.3 68.7 102.3 54.4 126.9 89.11987 97.0 90.1 91.0 89.6 65.2 98.5 51.3 137.8 93.91988 101.4 95.3 100.3 92.5 65.5 103.5 50.1 138.4 99.81989 102.6 98.2 103.7 95.3 67.8 106.8 52.0 134.5 102.71990 100.0 92.2 102.0 87.1 69.1 110.1 52.6 128.4 105.11991 96.5 84.5 88.9 82.1 65.1 114.2 46.9 133.3 90.61992 95.4 81.1 93.6 74.7 61.6 103.7 45.4 136.7 92.91993 94.3 82.3 97.6 74.6 57.7 95.5 42.9 135.7 89.91994 95.9 82.3 100.8 75.0 58.8 102.0 42.6 134.4 90.11995 98.0 77.8 101.3 68.9 60.5 102.1 44.5 139.9 105.11996 98.4 82.0 100.8 74.6 59.9 103.7 43.5 138.1 98.71997 98.8 82.3 92.8 77.8 58.3 103.4 41.7 139.8 92.21998 97.5 81.5 96.9 75.3 54.9 101.7 38.3 133.9 92.51999 97.9 79.7 103.6 70.7 54.5 100.3 38.2 141.3 92.82000 101.4 80.3 109.2 69.7 57.3 105.1 40.3 137.5 100.92001 100.2 78.4 106.3 68.2 57.1 103.6 40.3 138.1 101.02002 99.8 76.3 103.3 66.4 56.8 102.2 40.3 137.0 101.12003 100.2 78.5 107.1 68.0 56.8 112.0 38.3 131.5 99.12004 98.4 76.9 104.9 66.6 55.9 103.2 39.1 122.2 96.72005 101.1 82.1 112.8 70.9 55.4 108.1 37.5 127.1 96.12006 100.2 77.4 106.7 66.8 54.8 108.0 36.9 130.5 100.32007 99.6 80.1 114.4 68.0 51.8 102.2 34.8 128.3 95.02008 103.3 85.9 117.6 74.3 53.0 104.8 35.6 127.5 101.1
Source: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, British Trust for Ornithology, Defra Notes: A list of species included in each indicator is given in Appendix 1.
Table 2 PSA indicators for England: 1970 - 2008 (1970 = 100) Note: the index is set at 100 for 1970 and the subsequent figures give relative size of the counts.
Smoothed Indices Unsmoothed Indices
Composite Farmland
s (19) Woodland
s (35)
Water and
Wetland
(26) Farmland
s (19) Woodland
s (35)
Water and
Wetland
(26) 1970 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1971 101.0 99.0 103.2 103.7 106.0 1972 102.1 98.6 105.8 104.3 112.2 1973 102.9 98.9 107.1 101.1 110.8 1974 103.5 100.2 106.9 101.9 110.5 1975 104.0 102.2 105.9 104.0 106.0 111.0 108.5 1976 105.0 103.6 104.2 107.3 110.0 103.6 110.7 1977 104.7 103.3 102.3 108.5 112.0 110.2 117.4 1978 102.7 100.7 100.1 107.4 103.8 102.0 105.7 1979 100.4 96.8 98.7 106.1 97.9 94.4 101.0 1980 98.9 92.3 98.8 106.3 97.2 105.2 111.0 1981 97.4 87.3 99.2 106.7 92.2 106.7 108.2 1982 95.6 82.3 99.3 106.8 81.7 97.8 101.3 1983 94.0 77.9 99.2 107.5 80.6 104.4 110.9 1984 92.2 74.0 98.6 107.6 80.0 104.3 109.8 1985 90.1 70.1 97.2 107.2 73.6 103.2 110.3 1986 88.2 66.7 95.6 107.8 67.6 92.1 101.3 1987 87.8 64.4 95.0 110.6 64.6 94.5 107.5 1988 88.3 63.3 95.1 114.6 64.6 99.9 116.2 1989 88.5 62.8 94.3 117.0 66.5 102.1 123.1 1990 87.3 62.0 91.8 117.0 68.2 96.4 123.7 1991 84.8 60.2 88.3 114.6 63.3 87.7 108.3 1992 82.1 57.8 85.3 112.1 59.1 85.1 111.1 1993 80.1 55.7 83.3 110.8 53.5 85.1 108.2 1994 79.3 54.6 82.1 111.2 56.4 85.3 108.2 1995 79.2 54.1 81.3 113.0 58.0 81.8 123.5 1996 78.8 53.5 80.6 113.5 57.1 84.8 121.2 1997 78.1 52.7 80.1 112.5 55.9 79.4 112.7 1998 77.5 51.9 80.1 111.8 52.2 82.1 107.1 1999 77.6 51.6 80.3 112.7 52.4 82.3 111.1 2000 78.0 51.7 80.0 114.9 54.6 84.1 119.7 2001 78.3 52.0 79.0 117.0 54.5 81.5 120.9 2002 78.4 52.1 77.9 118.7 54.2 78.2 122.8 2003 78.3 52.1 77.2 119.2 54.3 78.3 124.4 2004 78.0 51.7 77.2 118.7 54.6 78.1 119.5 2005 77.9 50.9 77.7 119.2 53.4 80.4 121.3 2006 77.5 49.8 78.3 119.0 52.2 80.3 123.6 2007 76.8 48.7 78.7 118.2 48.6 81.6 116.7 2008 76.0 47.6 78.6 117.2 50.6 80.1 121.0 Source: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, British Trust for Ornithology, Defra
Notes: A list of species included in each indicator is given in Appendix 1.
Appendix 1: Bird species included in the ‘All bird species’ indicator, by habitat group1
Farmland (19) Generalists (7) Greenfinch Rook Reed Bunting Jackdaw Woodpigeon Kestrel Yellow Wagtail Specialists (12) Corn Bunting Linnet Tree Sparrow Goldfinch Skylark Turtle Dove Grey Partridge Starling Whitethroat Lapwing Stock Dove Yellowhammer
Woodland (38) Generalists (12) Blackbird Dunnock Robin Blue Tit Great Tit Song Thrush Bullfinch Lesser Whitethroat Tawny Owl Chaffinch Long-tailed Tit Wren Specialists (26) Blackcap Hawfinch Siskin Capercaillie Jay Sparrowhawk Chiffchaff Lesser Redpoll Spotted Flycatcher Coal Tit Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Treecreeper Crossbill Marsh Tit Tree Pipit Garden Warbler Nightingale Willow Tit Goldcrest Nuthatch Willow Warbler Green Woodpecker Pied Flycatcher Wood Warbler Great Spotted Woodpecker Redstart Seabird (19) Arctic Skua European Shag Mew Gull Arctic Tern Great Black-backed Gull Northern Fulmar Atlantic Puffin Great Cormorant Northern Gannet Black-headed Gull Great Skua Razorbill Black-legged Kittiwake Herring Gull Sandwich Tern Common Guillemot Lesser Black-backed Gul Common Tern Little Tern Upland (11) Buzzard Goosander Peregrine Falcon Common Sandpiper Grey Wagtail Red Grouse Curlew Greylag Goose Red-breasted Merganser Dipper Meadow Pipit
Lowland wetland (11) Coot Kingfisher Reed Warbler Gadwall Mallard Sedge Warbler Great Crested Grebe Moorhen Tufted Duck Grey Heron Mute Swan Other (16) Avocet Cuckoo Pied Wagtail Carrion Crow Dartford Warbler Shelduck Cetti’s Warbler Eider Swallow Cirl Bunting House Sparrow Woodlark Collared Dove Magpie Corncrake Mistle Thrush 1 Habitat classifications are generally based on ‘Gibbons, D.W., Reid, J.B. & Chapman, R.A. 1993. The New Atlas of Breeding Birds in Britain and Ireland: 1988-1991. London: T. & A.D. Poyser. A National Statistics publication National Statistics are produced to high professional standards set out in the National Statistics Code of Practice. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs.