BBS population declines and increases
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is a partnership between BTO, JNCC and RSPB.
- BBS – UK alerts – 25 years
- BBS – England alerts – 25 years
- BBS – Scotland alerts – 25 years
- BBS – Wales alerts – 25 years
- BBS – Northern Ireland alerts – 25 years
- BBS – UK alerts – 10 years
- BBS – England alerts – 10 years
- BBS – Scotland alerts – 10 years
- BBS – Wales alerts – 10 years
- BBS – Northern Ireland alerts – 10 years
- BBS – UK alert – 5 years
- BBS – England alerts – 5 years
- BBS – Scotland alerts – 5 years
- BBS – Wales alerts – 5 years
- BBS – Northern Ireland alerts – 5 years
- BBS – UK population increases of >50% – 25 years
- BBS – England population increases of >50% – 25 years
- BBS – Scotland population increases of >50% – 25 years
- BBS – Wales population increases of >50% – 25 years
- BBS – Northern Ireland population increases of >50% – 25 years
| 6. Table of declines >25% for BBS UK 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 10 | 1755 | -65 | -67 | -63 | >50 | |
| Crossbill | 10 | 72 | -52 | -63 | -39 | >50 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 2376 | -44 | -47 | -41 | >25 | |
| Little Owl | 10 | 68 | -42 | -53 | -32 | >25 | |
| Swift | 10 | 1008 | -39 | -45 | -34 | >25 | |
| Wood Warbler | 10 | 44 | -39 | -57 | -14 | >25 | |
| Wheatear | 10 | 418 | -35 | -43 | -27 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 10 | 1007 | -34 | -39 | -29 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 10 | 3021 | -34 | -36 | -32 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 10 | 326 | -29 | -38 | -21 | >25 | |
| Marsh Tit | 10 | 148 | -29 | -39 | -19 | >25 | |
| Barn Owl | 10 | 63 | -28 | -41 | -9 | >25 | |
| Collared Dove | 10 | 1572 | -27 | -31 | -23 | >25 | |
| Grasshopper Warbler | 10 | 97 | -27 | -44 | -8 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 10 | 156 | -26 | -38 | -9 | >25 |
| 7. Table of declines >25% for BBS England 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Dove | 10 | 38 | -81 | -87 | -74 | >50 | |
| Greenfinch | 10 | 1500 | -63 | -65 | -61 | >50 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 1815 | -49 | -51 | -46 | >25 | |
| Little Owl | 10 | 66 | -42 | -53 | -30 | >25 | |
| Tree Pipit | 10 | 68 | -42 | -59 | -21 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 10 | 2348 | -41 | -42 | -39 | >25 | |
| Swift | 10 | 868 | -39 | -45 | -32 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 10 | 747 | -39 | -45 | -34 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 10 | 100 | -36 | -47 | -22 | >25 | |
| Wheatear | 10 | 238 | -35 | -44 | -25 | >25 | |
| Grasshopper Warbler | 10 | 47 | -34 | -49 | -14 | >25 | |
| Dipper | 10 | 36 | -33 | -49 | -14 | >25 | |
| Collared Dove | 10 | 1339 | -32 | -35 | -29 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 10 | 202 | -28 | -36 | -19 | >25 | |
| Sparrowhawk | 10 | 289 | -27 | -33 | -19 | >25 | |
| Redshank | 10 | 62 | -27 | -46 | -2 | >25 |
| 8. Table of declines >25% for BBS Scotland 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 10 | 101 | -62 | -69 | -53 | >50 | |
| Wheatear | 10 | 99 | -36 | -46 | -23 | >25 | |
| Hooded Crow | 10 | 56 | -36 | -54 | -15 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 243 | -35 | -43 | -27 | >25 | |
| Kestrel | 10 | 33 | -32 | -52 | -1 | >25 | |
| Feral Pigeon/Rock Dove | 10 | 89 | -30 | -46 | -7 | >25 | |
| Lapwing | 10 | 77 | -29 | -43 | -14 | >25 | |
| Sedge Warbler | 10 | 68 | -27 | -42 | -6 | >25 | |
| Siskin | 10 | 104 | -26 | -38 | -13 | >25 |
| 9. Table of declines >25% for BBS Wales 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 10 | 101 | -79 | -84 | -74 | >50 | |
| Rook | 10 | 82 | -55 | -64 | -44 | >50 | |
| Swift | 10 | 62 | -54 | -65 | -40 | >50 | |
| House Martin | 10 | 96 | -47 | -58 | -34 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 209 | -40 | -47 | -31 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 10 | 237 | -37 | -43 | -31 | >25 | |
| Long-tailed Tit | 10 | 77 | -32 | -46 | -13 | >25 | |
| Tree Pipit | 10 | 42 | -29 | -44 | -2 | >25 | |
| Garden Warbler | 10 | 65 | -29 | -43 | -13 | >25 | |
| Wheatear | 10 | 65 | -28 | -43 | -8 | >25 |
| 10. Table of declines >25% for BBS Northern Ireland 2010-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 10 | 35 | -83 | -88 | -76 | >50 | |
| Linnet | 10 | 38 | -47 | -59 | -31 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 10 | 90 | -34 | -41 | -28 | >25 | |
| Pheasant | 10 | 52 | -28 | -39 | -11 | >25 | |
| Willow Warbler | 10 | 89 | -28 | -33 | -19 | >25 |
| 11. Table of declines >25% for BBS UK 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood Warbler | 5 | 40 | -44 | -62 | -27 | >25 | |
| Greenfinch | 5 | 1481 | -39 | -42 | -37 | >25 | |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 5 | 143 | -37 | -47 | -27 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 5 | 2211 | -35 | -38 | -33 | >25 | |
| Peregrine | 5 | 64 | -34 | -47 | -18 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 5 | 945 | -28 | -33 | -23 | >25 |
| 12. Table of declines >25% for BBS England 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tree Pipit | 5 | 58 | -40 | -52 | -25 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 5 | 1668 | -39 | -42 | -37 | >25 | |
| Greenfinch | 5 | 1276 | -39 | -41 | -36 | >25 | |
| Dipper | 5 | 30 | -37 | -51 | -19 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 5 | 2201 | -30 | -31 | -28 | >25 | |
| House Martin | 5 | 693 | -29 | -34 | -23 | >25 | |
| Kingfisher | 5 | 52 | -26 | -40 | -13 | >25 |
| 13. Table of declines >25% for BBS Scotland 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 5 | 88 | -29 | -42 | -14 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 5 | 240 | -28 | -36 | -20 | >25 |
| 14. Table of declines >25% for BBS Wales 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenfinch | 5 | 79 | -54 | -65 | -44 | >50 | |
| House Martin | 5 | 91 | -40 | -51 | -27 | >25 | |
| Swift | 5 | 56 | -39 | -52 | -24 | >25 | |
| Swallow | 5 | 203 | -37 | -43 | -29 | >25 | |
| Rook | 5 | 75 | -33 | -46 | -19 | >25 | |
| Long-tailed Tit | 5 | 78 | -32 | -44 | -15 | >25 | |
| Chaffinch | 5 | 231 | -30 | -34 | -25 | >25 | |
| Tree Pipit | 5 | 41 | -29 | -44 | -6 | >25 | |
| Goldcrest | 5 | 104 | -28 | -36 | -17 | >25 |
| 15. Table of declines >25% for BBS Northern Ireland 2015-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House Martin | 5 | 54 | -29 | -39 | -18 | >25 | |
| Pied Wagtail | 5 | 55 | -27 | -39 | -14 | >25 |
| 16. Table of population increases for BBS UK 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackdaw | 25 | 1851 | 65 | 51 | 79 | ||
| Buzzard | 25 | 1159 | 95 | 79 | 111 | ||
| Tree Sparrow | 25 | 192 | 100 | 57 | 167 | ||
| Canada Goose | 25 | 524 | 106 | 69 | 150 | ||
| Nuthatch | 25 | 565 | 113 | 92 | 136 | ||
| Chiffchaff | 25 | 1681 | 118 | 109 | 132 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 1163 | 139 | 124 | 155 | ||
| Stonechat | 25 | 166 | 147 | 95 | 220 | ||
| Goldfinch | 25 | 1820 | 156 | 142 | 169 | ||
| Greylag Goose | 25 | 267 | 180 | 39 | 495 | ||
| Blackcap | 25 | 1760 | 194 | 176 | 214 | ||
| Barn Owl | 25 | 50 | 228 | 148 | 389 | ||
| Gadwall | 25 | 46 | 234 | 99 | 530 | ||
| Mandarin | 25 | 35 | 621 | 275 | 1409 | ||
| Cetti's Warbler | 25 | 33 | 626 | 270 | 5142 | ||
| Red Kite | 25 | 188 | 1935 | 1141 | 3640 | ||
| Ring-necked Parakeet | 25 | 88 | 1935 | 907 | 8847 | ||
| Little Egret | 25 | 57 | 2380 | 866 | 64823 |
| 17. Table of population increases for BBS England 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackdaw | 25 | 1491 | 81 | 68 | 95 | ||
| Canada Goose | 25 | 478 | 82 | 42 | 135 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 1006 | 109 | 97 | 123 | ||
| Chiffchaff | 25 | 1405 | 113 | 103 | 126 | ||
| Nuthatch | 25 | 484 | 126 | 103 | 152 | ||
| Goldfinch | 25 | 1496 | 148 | 132 | 166 | ||
| Blackcap | 25 | 1486 | 157 | 145 | 172 | ||
| Stonechat | 25 | 70 | 170 | 92 | 311 | ||
| Gadwall | 25 | 43 | 210 | 81 | 463 | ||
| Buzzard | 25 | 815 | 220 | 180 | 273 | ||
| Barn Owl | 25 | 48 | 236 | 137 | 439 | ||
| Greylag Goose | 25 | 219 | 311 | 159 | 597 | ||
| Cetti's Warbler | 25 | 31 | 494 | 211 | 3861 | ||
| Ring-necked Parakeet | 25 | 88 | 1935 | 927 | 7733 | ||
| Little Egret | 25 | 52 | 2113 | 749 | 75032 | ||
| Red Kite | 25 | 145 | 25276 | 14856 | 203433 |
| 18. Table of population increases for BBS Scotland 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackdaw | 25 | 133 | 54 | 19 | 94 | ||
| House Sparrow | 25 | 111 | 56 | 25 | 93 | ||
| Raven | 25 | 57 | 60 | 21 | 113 | ||
| Reed Bunting | 25 | 68 | 61 | 21 | 100 | ||
| Cuckoo | 25 | 84 | 69 | 41 | 100 | ||
| House Martin | 25 | 77 | 70 | 22 | 136 | ||
| Magpie | 25 | 61 | 72 | 34 | 132 | ||
| Tree Pipit | 25 | 38 | 80 | 36 | 137 | ||
| Long-tailed Tit | 25 | 35 | 99 | 38 | 174 | ||
| Stonechat | 25 | 41 | 102 | 46 | 208 | ||
| Whitethroat | 25 | 93 | 118 | 45 | 192 | ||
| Goldfinch | 25 | 116 | 243 | 177 | 338 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 63 | 405 | 282 | 630 | ||
| Blackcap | 25 | 81 | 616 | 403 | 999 | ||
| Chiffchaff | 25 | 75 | 982 | 591 | 1600 |
| 19. Table of population increases for BBS Wales 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiffchaff | 25 | 154 | 62 | 40 | 92 | ||
| Jay | 25 | 79 | 65 | 35 | 134 | ||
| House Sparrow | 25 | 134 | 96 | 63 | 133 | ||
| Goldfinch | 25 | 142 | 98 | 67 | 136 | ||
| Blackcap | 25 | 139 | 197 | 151 | 263 | ||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 25 | 92 | 225 | 163 | 302 | ||
| Stonechat | 25 | 43 | 256 | 147 | 485 |
| 20. Table of population increases for BBS Northern Ireland 1995-2020 |
| Species | Period (yrs) |
Plots (n) |
Change (%) |
Lower limit |
Upper limit |
Alert | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunnock | 25 | 70 | 57 | 9 | 119 | ||
| Wren | 25 | 91 | 58 | 22 | 99 | ||
| Jackdaw | 25 | 76 | 60 | 24 | 113 | ||
| Song Thrush | 25 | 77 | 71 | 36 | 110 | ||
| Collared Dove | 25 | 36 | 87 | 19 | 333 | ||
| Pheasant | 25 | 42 | 93 | 20 | 295 | ||
| Woodpigeon | 25 | 84 | 119 | 68 | 173 | ||
| Great Tit | 25 | 74 | 128 | 82 | 170 | ||
| Hooded Crow | 25 | 81 | 178 | 121 | 260 | ||
| Goldfinch | 25 | 53 | 513 | 309 | 1150 | ||
| Buzzard | 25 | 34 | 1303 | 650 | 2995 | ||
| Blackcap | 25 | 44 | 1650 | 1108 | 2985 |
This report should be cited as: Massimino, D., Woodward, I.D., Hammond, M.J., Barber, L., Barimore, C., Harris, S.J., Leech, D.I., Noble, D.G., Walker, R.H., Baillie, S.R. & Robinson, R.A. (2020) BirdTrends 2020: trends in numbers, breeding success and survival for UK breeding birds. BTO Research Report 732. BTO, Thetford. www.bto.org/birdtrends
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