Britain's Climate
Blamed for Bird Changes
August 19, 2005 — By Cassandra Vinograd, Associated Press
LONDON — Climate change is to blame
for alterations in the number and distribution of birds in Britain, and
more changes are expected, according to a report published Friday.
Milder winters have pushed bird populations eastward and could result in
new bird species being found in Britain, The State of U.K. Birds 2004
report found.
Mark Avery, conservation director for the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, which helped produce the report, said the impact of
climate change was already evident in Britain's bird populations.
"Migratory birds are no respecters of international boundaries and their
future is linked to concerted global actions to tackle climate change,"
Avery said.
Despite a 6 percent rise in the combined populations of 111 bird species
since 1970, experts said they were concerned that for every 10 pairs of
birds living in rural regions in 1970, fewer than six remained today.
The report said there had been a rapid decline in species found in
farmland environments.
Britain's population of wintering ducks, geese, swans and wading birds
had dropped to its lowest level for a decade and seven out of the nine
common species of wading birds had shifted from Britain's warm west to
the colder east in response to increasingly milder winters there, the
report found.
Scientists also predicted that species like the black kite, the cattle
egret and the great reed warbler, not currently found in Britain, could
migrate there if warmer summer temperatures continued.
The report also highlighted a general trend for birds to nest earlier
and for migrating species to arrive earlier than they have done in the
past.
"It is now clear that we must adapt the recovery plans for our
threatened bird life to take account of the likely effects of climate
change on our rural and coastal landscapes," said Phil Grice of the
English Nature group, which contributed to the report.
Source: Associated Press |