Total Wild Bird Populations In Wales Down 50% Since 1960s - "No Sign Of Recovery" For Some Species

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WALES’ wild bird population has plummeted by almost 50% since the Sixties, an alarming report reveals today. A study of the nation’s environment found a marked decline in the bird species that inhabit farmland and woodland. Sparrows, willow warblers, sky larks curlews and lapwings – even the once-common starling – feature on the experts’ danger list.

The Welsh Assembly Government report, which has compiled data on bird populations over the past 40 years, warned that there appeared to be “no sign of recovery for those groups with long-term declines”.

Using surveys from the British Trust for Ornithology and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, it found 42.7% of 124 bird species in Wales have suffered a decline in numbers; 40.3% have remained stable and 16.9% have thrived. The RSPB said the health of Wales’ bird populations was a measure of the environment’s quality. It said: “Evocative birds such as yellowhammers and curlews have declined markedly and there are two thirds fewer breeding starlings in Wales.”

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A report reveals that almost half are struggling to breed, with a marked decline in species inhabiting farmland and woodland. Species such as curlews, willow warblers, skylarks and pied flycatchers are among those deserting the Welsh terrain. John Wilson, chairman of the Glamorgan Bird Society, said breeds such as skylarks, reed buntings and lapwings were in peril in farmland areas and pied flycatchers and spotted flycatchers in woodland.

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http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/07/25/birds-deserting-wales-says-shocking-wildlife-report-91466-21403300/