Popular puffin and curlew are among 15 species added to ‘red list’ of birds at risk of extinction locally, says a new report

More than a quarter of the UK’s birds including much-loved species such as the curlew and puffin are now fighting for survival, a new report warns.



The latest assessment of the status of the UK’s 244 birds has “red-listed” 27% as being of “highest conservation concern” – meaning urgent action is needed to prevent their extinction locally.

Most of the 67 species have suffered severe declines, with their numbers or range being halved in recent decades. There has been an increase of 15 species on the red list since the last assessment in 2009.



The curlew, recognised by its long, curved beak and distinctive call, has suffered a rapid decline in its UK population of 42% between 1995 and 2008. A report last month called for the upland bird to become the country’s highest conservation priority because of the global importance of its UK population – estimated to represent more than 30% of the west European population.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The UK population of the curlew represents almost one-third of the west European population. Photograph: Andrew Parkinson//Alamy

The curlew is one of five upland species added to the red list alongside the dotterel, whinchat, grey wagtail and merlin. This highlights that many of the UK’s upland species are in increasing trouble, the report warns, with the total number of upland birds on the red list now reaching 12. Forestry, shooting, recreation, renewable energy generation and water storage are all increasingly putting pressure on upland bird populations.



Other species remain well below historical levels or are considered to be at risk of global extinction. A growing number of seabirds including the shag and kittiwake have been added to the red list, along with the charismatic puffin, which has suffered a worldwide population decline. In October, puffins were added to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of species for the first time, putting them at the same risk of extinction as the African elephant and lion.

Martin Harper, RSPB conservation director, said: “This update highlights the continued erosion of the UK’s wildlife. It is sobering that much loved species such as curlew, puffin and nightingale are now of highest conservation concern in the UK. They are sounding the alarm that things are going wrong in our uplands, our seas, and for our migratory species. Addressing these declines must now become a priority.



“But, we must remain optimistic. This latest assessment shows that when we have diagnosed the problem, identified solutions, and when conservation action is targeted and adequately funded, we can bring species back from the brink.”



‘Birds of Conservation on Concern 4’ is a report by a coalition of bird conservation and monitoring organisations including the RSPB, BirdLife International, the National Trust and Natural England, and reviews the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Each species is assessed against a set of criteria and awarded red, amber or green status according to their level of conservation concern.

There was good news for some species, with the bittern, nightjar and dunlin moved from red to amber status as a result of targeted conservation action over nearly two decades.



Numbers of the bittern, a species of heron famous for its booming call, have recovered from just 11 males in 1997 to a known population of 150 in England and Wales this year, thanks to efforts to improve its reedbed habitat and significant EU funding.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest A dunlin at Freiston Shore RSPB reserve, the Wash, Lincolnshire, England. Photograph: Andy Hay/RSPB Images

David Stroud, senior ornithologist for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, said: “The improved status of bittern and nightjar following two decades of targeted conservation delivery shows that with adequately resourced implementation, we can restore even highly threatened species - as these were in the 1990s. We need urgently to similarly address the factors causing the poor status of very many other species on the red list.”



An additional 22 species including the red kite and woodlark have moved from the amber list to green status, and are now of the lowest conservation concern.



Red kites were once restricted to Wales but the efforts of conservationists and landowners in Wales and a long-term reintroduction programme in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland means they are now be found in most parts of the UK. Woodlarks have benefited from improved land management, especially of heathland. Both birds were once on the red list and demonstrate how recovery is possible, the report says.