The birds of the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man are assessed every few years and placed into one of three categories of increasing conservation importance – Green, Amber or Red.
Birds of Conservation Concern 5
More birds than ever before were placed on the Red list of greatest conservation concern in the latest report, published in 2021. At 70 species long, the Red list is nearly double the length of the one in the first report in 1996, showing that even more of our birds are in trouble.
The swift, house martin and greenfinch all moved onto the Red list because of population declines, joining other well known birds such as puffins and cuckoos.
More birds that migrate to Africa for the winter seem to be faring less well, while there has been no improvement in the status of farmland or upland birds; indeed, more such species have been Red listed. Waterbirds that spend the winter in the UK have declined in numbers, resulting in the goldeneye, smew, Bewick’s swan and dunlin all moving to the Red list.
But it’s not all bad news: dedicated conservation action has helped the white-tailed eagle move from Red to Amber.
more information at Red List
