Britain's birds may be warming to climate change
Date: 14-Sep-99
Country: UK
The annual Breeding Birds Survey, the largest ever undertaken in
Britain, showed a marked improvement in numbers for many of the most
common species between 1994 and 1998 - particularly in colder places
like Scotland.
Overall in Britain, 33 species increased and 20 declined, while in
Scotland 14 increased and just five declined, the survey said.
It was produced jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology, the Joint
Nature Conservation Committee and the Royal Society for the Protection
of Birds.
Although scientists are not sure what caused the overall increase, one
factor could be climate change - increasing the range of some species or
simply allowing them to stay in Britain for the winter.
"It's something that will need to be looked at, but climate change could
be part of the reason," Richard Bashford, the study's coordinator, told
Reuters.
Bashford said recent data compared with figures gathered in the 1930s
and 40s suggested species like blackcaps, willow warblers and chiffchaff
are nesting earlier in the year.
But he said climate change could spell trouble for species like the
dottrel and ptarmigan that nest on cold mountaintops.
Overall, the outlook for Britain's birds is mixed: while climate change
could help some, other species that rely on farmland - such as the
skylark, corn bunting and bullfinch - continue to dwindle in numbers.
The corn bunting declined 42 percent in the five year period, the survey
showed.
"It's a mixed bag. We're pleased with the range of birds that are
increasing, but of the birds that continue to decline, it seems to be
the same group of farmland birds that suffer," Bashford said.
Changes in farming that favour single crops and large expanses of field
are probably to blame for the decline in numbers, he said.