Rare breeding birds continue to colonise the UK
White-tailed Eagle | ©Liz Cutting | BTO
Words by The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO)
IG: @btobirds
Covered by Conker Nature Magazine
IG: @conkernaturemagazine
First Published: 04th November 2024 at 10:00 AM GMT
The latest report by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP), the independent body that monitors the populations of the UK’s rarest breeding birds, reveals that 108 species and races of rare native birds were reported breeding, or attempting to breed, in the UK in 2022.
Bee Eater | ©Philip Croft | BTO
Northumberland in 2022, along with an even greater number of chicks. There is evidence that the disease also impacted the productivity of raptors such as White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle in 2022.
Other rare breeding species are also struggling for a range of reasons, in some cases despite focused conservation efforts. With just 20 pairs found, Slavonian Grebes remained at their lowest level since the start of annual monitoring in 1971 and had extremely poor breeding success in 2022 with only seven young known to have fledged. This species looks increasingly threatened as a UK breeding bird.
Numbers of Corn Crakes have declined by 28% in the last 10 years. Although many raptor species are showing welcome recoveries from population lows caused by pesticide use and persecution, Montagu’s Harriers continue to struggle. A displaying male did its best to attract a mate in Wiltshire, but for the third year in a row there was no breeding pair anywhere in the UK.
Spoonbill | ©Edmund Fellowes | BTO
The latest report by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP), the independent body that monitors the populations of the UK’s rarest breeding birds, reveals that 108 species and races of rare native birds were reported breeding, or attempting to breed, in the UK in 2022.
This is the second-highest total since the Panel began reporting in 1973, and suggests a continuation of the increasing trend in the number of rare breeding bird species in the UK, largely driven by the arrival of colonising species.
2022 saw the first confirmed breeding in the UK by Glossy Ibis, with a pair raising one chick at a wetland site in Cambridgeshire. This elegant wading bird was once only found on Mediterranean coasts in Europe but has been moving northwards in recent decades.
As well as this newly arrived species, other recent colonists are prospering. Of the 14 colonists and reintroduced species to have established new populations in the UK since the RBBP began reporting in 1973, five – Mediterranean Gull, White-tailed Eagle, Eurasian Spoonbill, Little Egret and Great White Egret – reached record levels in 2022.
Most of these species are expanding their ranges into the UK from the south, and more appear to be on the way. Black-winged Stilts bred for the ninth successive year, with pairs in Norfolk and Yorkshire both rearing four young each. Two pairs of Bee-eaters fledged four young at Trimingham in Norfolk, to the delight of thousands of visiting birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts – this was the fourth breeding attempt in the UK by this multi-coloured migrant in the last decade.
As well as colonists, a number of species continue to recover from historical depletion, with three raptors being reported in greater numbers than in any previous RBBP report. The number of Northern Goshawk pairs reported leapt by 24% since 2021 (which itself was a record year), Marsh Harriers are increasing in much of their range, as is the Osprey which bred in Dorset and Yorkshire for the first time in centuries.
Sadly, the impact of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) H5N1 is a concern for our seabirds – at least 90 adult Roseate Terns died from the disease reaching the colony at Coquet Island,
Glossy Ibis | ©Philip Croft | BTO
“The RBBP collates thousands of records of rare breeding birds every year, which allows us to track the populations of the UK’s rarest and often most vulnerable breeding birds in order to aid their conservation. This recording allows us to detect the arrival of new breeding birds, and to celebrate the recovery of threatened species, as well as direct urgent action to those which are struggling.”
“Birdwatchers play a critical role in our monitoring of rare breeding birds. We thank the network of volunteer County Recorders and the support of Bird Clubs across the UK. We can all help improve the data that are collated by RBBP by submitting our records through BirdTrack, with counts and breeding evidence, which allows the County Recorders to provide county summary data to RBBP.”