The UK Red List for birds now stands at 70 species and is almost double the length of that of the first UK review in 1996.
The latest assessment of the status of all the UK’s 245 regularly-occurring bird species – Birds of Conservation Concern 5 – shows that 70 species are now of ‘highest conservation concern’ and have been placed on the assessment’s Red List. The newly revised UK Red List now includes familiar Welsh avian species, such as the swift, house martin and greenfinch that have been added for the first time.
The report placed 70 species on the Red list, 103 on the Amber list and 72 on the Green list. Worryingly, the Red List now accounts for more than one-quarter (29%) of the UK species, more than ever before. Most of the species were placed on the Red List because of their severe declines, having halved in numbers or range in the UK in recent decades. Others remain well below historical levels or are considered under threat of global extinction.
Birds of Conservation Concern 5 is a report compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations reviewing the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Each species was assessed against a set of standardised criteria and placed on either the Green, Amber or Red List – indicating an increasing level of conservation concern.
Swift has moved from the Amber to the Red List owing to an alarming decrease in population size, with a decrease of 72% seen in Wales between 1995 - 2018. This is higher than the UK average and sees Wales have the highest decline across the UK. These join other well-known birds, such as the cuckoo and wood warbler, already on the Red list, which migrate between the UK and sub-Saharan Africa each year. Work to address their declines must focus on both their breeding grounds here and throughout the rest of their migratory journey, which requires international cooperation and support.
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Posted On: 01/12/2021