Rare birds taking flight as the world warms up
Climate change is driving out some of Britain’s rarest birds, researchers say.
In the past 25 years, the number of redwings, fieldfares and Slavonian grebes visiting northern England and Scotland have plummeted as temperatures rise.
But a succession of warmer summers and milder winters have boosted Continental ‘invaders’ such as the little egret and Cetti’s warbler.
Slavonian grebe: Its numbers have plummeted as temperatures have risen
Experts who studied the changing populations of 42 rare nesting birds between 1980 and 2004 said climate change is already having a noticeable effect.
Dr Richard Gregory, of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said: ‘Our paper shows wildlife has been affected by climate change - some nature reserves in southern Britain now have an almost “Mediterranean” feel to them.
‘This discovery has profound consequences for some of our most threatened and declining wildlife.’
The study was carried out by researchers at Durham and Cambridge universities and the RSPB and published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
One victim is the redwing - a type of Scandinavian thrush which was once a widespread winter visitor. It started nesting in 1925 - reaching a peak of up to 80 pairs in the 1980s. Today, there are just a few pairs left in Scotland and the North of England.
