![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/uk-migratory-birds-in-freefall-over-climate-change/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/131131200_bird_tjolliffebbc.jpg&description=Image source, Getty Images Image caption, There are millions fewer wild birds over Britain than in 1970 British bird lovers will see a very different pattern of species as the climate warms, according to scientists. They say climate change is bad news for birds, but locally we will see "winners and losers". Migrants seldom seen on British shores, such as black-winged stilts and bee-eaters, are delighting bird watchers. But populations of cuckoos are "in freefall" as UK wildlife struggles to cope with multiple pressures. In nature-depleted Britain, almost half of all bird species are in decline due to a host of pressures - from the loss of meadows, hedgerows and other natural land to climate change and the use of pesticides. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Bee-eaters nested in Norfolk this year and may set up home here The number of wild birds in Britain has fallen by 73 million since 1970, according to the British Trust for Ornithology, which studies birds in the British Isles. Head of ringing, Dr Dave Leech, said climate change was a growing pressure, particularly for migratory birds dealing with extreme weather on several continents. He told BBC News: "Climate change is one of the biggest pressures that all species are facing, but particularly migratory species, because they have to worry about the climate conditions not only where they're breeding, but also where they're wintering and the areas that they're travelling through to get here, which can be thousands of kilometres." Some birds such as reed warblers are taking advantage of longer, hotter summers by producing more young. Others, such as the Cetti's warbler, which colonised the UK some decades ago, are expanding their range north. Yet many species, including the cuckoo and the willow warbler, are declining in southern Britain as the climate warms. Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Cuckoos are being affected by the changing seasons Scientists think some birds are having difficulty adjusti){kind=link}
British bird lovers will see a very different pattern of species as the climate warms, according to scientists.
They say climate change is bad news for birds, but locally we will see “winners and losers”.
Migrants seldom seen on British shores, such as black-winged stilts and bee-eaters, are delighting bird watchers.
But populations of cuckoos are “in freefall” as UK wildlife struggles to cope with multiple pressures.
In nature-depleted Britain, almost half of all bird species are in decline due to a host of pressures – from the loss of meadows, hedgerows and other natural land to climate change and the use of pesticides.