Woodland birds down in number

A big drop in the population of long-distance migrant birds has been uncovered in a new survey.

Species such as the tree pipit and the spotted flycatcher fell by 70 per cent in some areas.

It is a similar story for the willow warbler, down an average of 75 per cent, the wood warbler, down 64 per cent and the garden warbler down by nearly 40 per cent in some places.

It is not clear if the decline is related to their journey to warmer climates in Africa or if there are problems in the countries where they spend the winter.

Other species showing a national decline were the lesser redpoll, the lesser spotted woodpecker and the willow tit.

It is not all bad news, though, are some birds are thriving, including the blackcap, chiff-chaff, goldcrest, robin, tree creeper and wren.

Among residents and mid-distance migrants, there were some unexpected success stories with signs that coal tits, blue and great tits are showing continuing growth.

There is also good news for green and great spotted woodpeckers but there relative, the lesser spotted woodpecker, is in decline.

The report reveals regional differences with a trend for more general declines in the south and east of Britain than the north and west.

The reasons may be linked to changes in weather patterns, changes to woodland areas, and the impact of deer and grey squirrels.

Jim Knight, biodiversity minister, said of the report: "Woodland birds are a vital part of our natural heritage. While some of the birds featured in this report are familiar to us from back gardens and parks, others like the willow tit and tree pipit, are less common and are becoming rarer."

Mr Knight said he was pleased that the results would help to shape further work on the protection of species.

"It gives us clear scientific evidence for these changes," he said.

The research was commissioned and funded by Defra, the Forestry Commission, the RSPB, BTO, the Woodland Trust, and English Nature.

A conference on the changes in the woodland bird populations will be held in Leicester during April when the decline of many species is likely to be high on the agenda.