London and the south east of England are on the front line of climate change in the UK, with the region’s birds already reacting to an apparent one degree rise in average summer temperatures since the 1980’s.
Most species are moving north to remain in their comfort zone, meaning some European species, like the hoopoe, little bittern and zitting cisticola are likely to become resident in the not too distant future.
My daughter thinks the zitting cisticola sounds like an unpleasant disease, but it’s a small warbler, which builds nests like cups in long grass, mostly near water. It makes a sound like the snipping of scissors. I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before we get records of breeding zitting cisticola’s in wet grasslands along the Thames Estuary!
The findings are from the latest analysis of bird surveys and monitoring data called the State of the UK’s Birds (SUKB). It’s produced by a coalition of three NGOs: the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT), together with the UK’s statutory nature conservation bodies: Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Northern Ireland (DAERA), the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Natural England (NE) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW). That’s enough of the acronyms (8 AMBAR*).
Many of our rarer breeding birds are at a high risk of extinction in the UK, based on projections of how climate will become less suitable for these species. These birds are mainly found in the north of the UK and in many cases, such as for the dotterel, whimbrel, common scoter, and Slavonian grebe, population declines have already been considerable. However, the report contains better news for some birds. Collared doves have extended their range into Scotland and species like quail, little egret, hobby, and Mediterranean gull have substantially increased their range as they occupy new northern spaces.
It’s not just changes in range and species that climate change is bringing. One of our most familiar resident garden birds, the great tit is also laying its eggs 11 days earlier than 40 years ago. Another species which has changed its breeding season is the swallow. They migrate to and from southern Africa each year and records show they are arriving back in the in the UK 15 days earlier and breeding 11 days earlier than they did in the 1960s. Swallows and other migratory birds, such as garden warblers and whitethroats are also delaying their return migration each autumn, so some species are now spending up to 4 weeks longer in the UK each year.
You can help us track these changes by taking part in our annual Big Garden Birdwatch survey. This coming year it takes place over the last weekend of January (Fri 27 to Sunday 29). No expertise is required. Just spend an hour recording the most birds you see of each species at any one time. So if you see a blackbird in the first ten minutes, then three blackbirds in the last ten minutes, you record the maximum you saw together, which in my example would be three. Registration for the Big Garden Birdwatch opens on 13 December and forms will be sent out in January in time for the survey.
* 8 AMBAR = Eight acronyms must be a record?