Numbers of woodland birds on the decline

[Kymba]

Some worrying news i read today

Some of Britain's best loved woodland birds are declining at an alarming rate, ornithologists have warned.

Long haul migrant species in particular - such as the Spotted Flycatcher, the Willow Warbler and the Tree Pipit - are disappearing from the dappled glades and airy canopies that cover the country.

But in contrast to those that travel between Africa and the more temperate latitudes of Europe, resident breeding birds and short hop migrants have either declined at a slower rate or not at all.

Overall, more species breeding in woodland have increased than decreased between the 1980s and 2003/04 but patterns of population change differ across groups of species, according to the British Trust for Ornithology's Repeat Woodland Bird Survey.

All long distance migrants have declined with the five worst hit identified as the Garden Warbler (25.6%), the Wood Warbler (64%), the Tree Pipit (69.7%), the Spotted Flycatcher (70.4%), and the Willow Warbler (74.2%).

BTO spokesman Paul Stancliffe said: "It is interesting that Spotted Flycatcher was late returning to the UK this year and so far numbers appear to be low.

"Its conservation status is Red, high conservation concern and the decline seems to be continuing. It is suggested that there are problems in the winter quarters of these species coupled with changes in woodland management in the UK."

In all, 11 out of the 34 species monitored showed large national increases in numbers - greater than 25% - while eight showed large decreases of more than 25%.

Mr Stancliffe added: "The worrying decline for long distance birds was confirmed for the first time by this survey. Birds such as Tree Pipit and Spotted Flycatcher showed declines of up to 70% in some areas."

On the other hand, the two medium distance migrants, the Blackcap and the Chiffchaff, have increased strongly - by 57.2% and 154.8% respectively.

Common species, such as the Blue Tit and Great Spotted Woodpecker, appear to have fared better than scarcer species like the Willow Tit and the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.

The report said changes to the structure of woodlands as produced by reductions in coppicing or intensified deer grazing, for example, may have contributed to the decline of many woodland species.

Deer are voracious feeders, and can strip out bushes and young trees from woodland very rapidly. Other scientists blame the modern woodland management practice of removing dead wood in which the bark beetles live and the birds in turn feed on.

Also, because of climate change trees and other plants are in leaf earlier and so caterpillars are emerging earlier to feed on them.

Resident birds such as Blue tits and Great tits are able to take advantage of this before migrant woodland birds such as flycatchers arrive, so there is less food for them.

The Lesser Redpoll has undergone the worst decline over the past twenty odd years of 88.9%. The lack of suitable young forest growth may be a contributing factor, added the research.

Report co-author Rob Fuller, of the BTO, said: "We were not surprised the study confirmed large declines have
occurred in certain resident species, notably Willow Tit, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Hawfinch.

"But the declines in those summer visitors that spend the winter in Africa were more serious than we were expecting.

"At the same time it has been reassuring to see that several species are thriving in woodlands, such as Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Great Tits and Coal Tits."