Science

Britain's water birds have declined by a QUARTER in 10 years due to climate change


Britain’s water birds have declined by a QUARTER in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters and endangered ducks and waders become more reliant on protected wetland sites

  • Volunteers survey British wetlands every month to assess population numbers
  • The British Trust for Ornithology has been running the bird survey for 70 years 
  • Its results help to determine which area are designated to be protected sites
  • The mild, dry winter has resulted in migratory birds spending less time in the UK

Numbers of Britain’s water birds have declined by a quarter in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters, the British Trust for Ornithology has reported.

Data for the trust’s Wetland Bird Survey — which has been running for 70 years — is collected monthly by a network of volunteer across British wetlands.

Results from the surveys help to determine which of Britain and Northern Ireland‘s wetlands are designated protected sites based on their winter bird populations.

The protected sites have become vital for endangered ducks and waders, which are increasingly reliant on them for habitats, the survey data also reveals.

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Numbers of Britain's water birds have declined by a quarter in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters, the British Trust for Ornithology has reported. Pictured, a Goldeneye

Numbers of Britain’s water birds have declined by a quarter in 10 years as climate change leads to milder winters, the British Trust for Ornithology has reported. Pictured, a Goldeneye

‘Wetland Bird Survey results from the mild, dry winter of 2018/19 showed evidence for some migratory waterbirds spending less time here, said the British Trust for Ornithology’s Teresa Frost.

‘Wigeon, for example, had lower numbers than usual in autumn and spring — perhaps because they were able to spend more of the period closer to their breeding grounds, with mild conditions on the Continent.’

‘For other species, declines in winter counts here are related to pressures from climate change, habitat loss and other pressures in their breeding and wintering areas.’

Many of the declining ducks and wading birds — including the Goldeneye, Purple Sandpiper and Scaup — are becoming increasingly reliant on protected sites, the report found.

‘It’s essential that we keep monitoring, both here and in other countries […] so we can build the picture of which species — such as Curlew and Pochard — are most in need of international conservation effort,’ Ms Frost added.

Numbers of Pochard, for example — a medium-sized diving duck — have fallen by around half across the UK, but are declining at a slower rate in protected sites, which now hold around 40 per cent of the British wintering population.

In contrast, only around 15 per cent of Pochards wintering in the UK used protected sites back in the seventies and eighties. 

In Northern Ireland, meanwhile, ‘almost no Pochard now occur outside the protected areas,’ the report note. 

Results from the surveys help to determine which wetlands are designated protected sites based on their winter bird populations. Pictured, a Purple Sandpiper

Results from the surveys help to determine which wetlands are designated protected sites based on their winter bird populations. Pictured, a Purple Sandpiper

‘Having a long term dataset such as Wetland Bird Survey is of immense value,’ said Joint Nature Conservation Committee monitoring ecologist Anna Robinson.

These surveys, she added, are ‘helping us understand the big picture of biodiversity trends, areas that are important for wildlife, and how designated protected sites can help.’

‘Without so many dedicated volunteers going out and counting the birds that use these sites, the picture would be much poorer.’

The full findings of the report were published on the British Trust for Ornithology website

WHAT DO EXPERTS PREDICT FOR THE FATE OF THE PLANET’S PLANTS AND ANIMALS?

Nature is in more trouble now than at any time in human history with extinction looming over one million species of plants and animals, experts say.

That’s the key finding of the United Nations‘ (UN) first comprehensive report on biodiversity – the variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat.

The report – published on May 6, 2019 – says species are being lost at a rate tens or hundreds of times faster than in the past. 

Many of the worst effects can be prevented by changing the way we grow food, produce energy, deal with climate change and dispose of waste, the report said.

The report’s 39-page summary highlighted five ways people are reducing biodiversity:

– Turning forests, grasslands and other areas into farms, cities and other developments. The habitat loss leaves plants and animals homeless. About three-quarters of Earth’s land, two-thirds of its oceans and 85% of crucial wetlands have been severely altered or lost, making it harder for species to survive, the report said.

– Overfishing the world’s oceans. A third of the world’s fish stocks are overfished.

– Permitting climate change from the burning of fossil fuels to make it too hot, wet or dry for some species to survive. Almost half of the world’s land mammals – not including bats – and nearly a quarter of the birds have already had their habitats hit hard by global warming.

– Polluting land and water. Every year, 300 to 400 million tons of heavy metals, solvents and toxic sludge are dumped into the world’s waters.

– Allowing invasive species to crowd out native plants and animals. The number of invasive alien species per country has risen 70 per cent since 1970, with one species of bacteria threatening nearly 400 amphibian species.



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