Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife. This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife. In addition there are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations, which help in the interpretation of shorter term fluctuations in numbers.
The bird population indices have been compiled in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).
As part of the improvements to the publication this year, we have combined the two releases into a single release. We hope that this will help users understand differences in data or trends in England compared to the UK.
For more statistics about the status of bird populations internationally, please see the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme website.
Defra statistics: Biodiversity and Wildlife
Email mailto:Biodiversity@defra.gov.uk">Biodiversity@defra.gov.uk
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http://136.243.38.168:26248/file?name=67cf9e81e23a86018aa9b438bad0f7c7ccbd03c5a77dbb9f96296c69207ffefc.png" alt="">
This is a dataset for identifying UK bird species that is actively being added to. Currently 36 of the planned 250 (14.4%) of the bird species have been labelled and added. (Last Modified - 13/05/2024)
Current model active on this site is trained for 100 epochs on 25 species.
Process: - List of ~250ish UK birds - Use a program to search google for the first 100 images of the latin name of the bird - Manually remove inaccurate images - Label primary bird species (and occasionally secondary species)
Main issues: - Under-representation of female birds in a small number of species - Under representation of non-mating season birds in a small number species - Under-labelling of secondary bird species in a small number of cluttered images - Due to inaccuracies of google image search, some bird species are under-represented, such as the whooper swan
Even with all these "issues", it results in a fairly good bird identifier.
This statistic shows the result of an investigation into the prevalence of birds in gardens in the United Kingdom in 2014 compared to 2018, by species. The birds spotted in the highest numbers are shown. The most commonly sighted species was the house sparrow.
The estimated number of ornamental birds owned by households in the United Kingdom has fluctuated each year since 2010. As of 2023, the number of ornamental birds stood at about *** million, the same as the previous year.
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licencehttp://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licence
An updated version of this dataset is available at: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/wild_bird_populations_in_england Overall breeding bird populations in England have changed little compared with 40 years ago. In 2010 they were just above what they were in 1970, following a small decline of 1.5 per cent in the most recent five years, from 2004 to 2009. However this masks considerable variation between individual bird species and groups of species that share the same broad habitats.
This statistic shows the estimated number of indoor birds kept as pets in the United Kingdom (UK) from 2010/11 to 2021/22. The population of indoor birds in the UK was estimated to total *** million in 2021/22.
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The Bird Conservation Targeting Project (BCTP) produces breeding distribution maps for a suite of rare and declining farmland and woodland birds. The maps can be used to guide the prescription of land management advice based on the species already breeding in an area, or for allocating funding towards sites known to be important for birds. The data cover a 5-year period, and are up-dated annually. Data are collated a wide range of sources to produce the most comprehensive maps possible. The data are displayed as presence-only records. Absence of a record does not necessarily indicate a true absence record, as there may be no data available. Data compiled in different years should not be used to analyse trends, as the amount of data available to the project varied from year to year.
BCTP outputs were first produced in England in 2004, in Wales and Northern Ireland in 2008, and in Scotland in 2009. This dataset contains the non-sensitive records from 2001 - 2008, which were compiled in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. These are archived data. For targeting purposes, the current data (available in a separate dataset) should be used. The non-sensitive records are in a separate dataset on the NBN.
The species selection varies in each country. There are sensitive records for 3 species in England, 4 species in Scotland, 4 species in Northern Ireland, and 2 species in Wales.
The BCTP is a partnership between the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR), the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), Forestry Commission England (FCE), Forestry Commission Wales (FCW), Forest Service (FS), Natural England (NE), Northern Ireland Environment Agency, the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). The BCTP partners are grateful to the contributions of the data providers listed at www.rspb.org.uk/targeting.
This dataset comprises bird abundance data collected using point count methods in Bedford, Luton and Milton Keynes in the summer of 2013. The purpose of the study was to characterise the variation in breeding bird fauna across a range of urban forms. As well as measuring the birds that were 'really' present, the survey aimed to investigate the birds detectable at times of day when people were more active and more likely to have casual encounters with them. These data were collected as part of the Fragments, Functions and Flows in Urban Ecosystem Services (F3UES) project, as part of the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) framework.
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licencehttp://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licence
UK wild bird populations is now available from here: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/wild_bird_populations
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UK wild bird populations is now available from here: https://data.gov.uk/dataset/wild_bird_populations
Trends in populations of selected species (wild birds)
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United Kingdom UK: Bird Species: Threatened data was reported at 11.000 Unit in 2017. United Kingdom UK: Bird Species: Threatened data is updated yearly, averaging 11.000 Unit from Dec 2017 (Median) to 2017, with 1 observations. United Kingdom UK: Bird Species: Threatened data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Land Use, Protected Areas and National Wealth. Birds are listed for countries included within their breeding or wintering ranges. Threatened species are the number of species classified by the IUCN as endangered, vulnerable, rare, indeterminate, out of danger, or insufficiently known.; ; United Nations Environmental Program and the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and International Union for Conservation of Nature, Red List of Threatened Species.; Sum;
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) is the main scheme for monitoring population changes of common breeding birds in the UK, providing an important indicator of the health of the countryside. Population trends are produced annually for over 100 species. Results are presented at UK level and at country level where there are sufficient data, and are used widely to inform conservation priorities, action, and reporting.
The BBS is a Partnership jointly funded by BTO, RSPB and JNCC, and is indebted to the thousands of volunteer data recorders who take part.
Some species of wildlife have legal protection. Natural England issues licences on behalf of the government that allow activities affecting protected species that are otherwise prohibited.
Some licences allow lethal control. Before issuing a licence, Natural England carefully considers the circumstances of a case, the justification for it and the impact on the species as a whole.
The first document shows the number of wildlife licences issued in 2024 for:
You can find out more information about data by https://naturalengland.blog.gov.uk/2025/05/21/wildlife-licensing-enabling-development-while-protecting-nature-annual-summary-2024/" class="govuk-link">reading our blog.
The second document shows the number of birds, nests and eggs covered on licences that may include lethal control between 2014 and 2024.
This document is an update to the licences issued for the control of birds 2014 to 2023.
Where an applicant has applied for an amendment to their licence, this will supersede the previous version of the licence. As a result, there may be some differences in the data provided last year compared to this year.
Where a licence reference number appears more than once for birds, nests or eggs of the same species, this does not mean an applicant can control the combined total number of birds, nests or eggs of that species. This duplication allows licence holders flexibility in which control methods they use. To analyse the data accurately, only one instance of the birds, nests and eggs for species and licence purpose should be used for each unique reference number or site.
For all bird licences, annual returns show that the actual numbers affected are significantly less than the numbers covered on the licences. Because of the complexity of return information, it’s not possible to publish these figures.
This document now also contains data on all piscivorous area licences and falconry quarry licences covering the previous seven years. Improvements to how we mobilise our data has allowed us to include these statistics this year in line with our commitment to transparency. The published data do not include individual licences issued for the release of gamebirds in or within 500m of Special Protection Areas, as these licences were issued by Defra.
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This dataset shows the total number of Salmonella isolations and incidents in wild birds on GB Premises in 2014. The data is grouped by Salmonella subspecies, the numbers of isolations and incidents are given, and the whole is grouped by year. An 'isolation' is defined as the first report of a salmonella isolate (a cultured instance of Salmonella from a sample) from a known group of animals on a single occasion. An 'incident' is the confirmation of the same Salmonella type on one or more occasion within a set time period (usually thirty days), and within the same group of animals or same location. The laboratory facilities are UKAS accredited to BS EN ISO 17025:2000 (Lab Nos. 0941, 1769 and 2112) for an extensive range of tests supported by proficiency testing accredited to ISO/IEC Guide 43-1 1997 (Lab No. 0004). APHA is certificated to BS EN ISO 9001:2000 for ‘the provision of a range of specialist veterinary scientific services to the Government and other interested parties worldwide’ (Certificate Nos. LRQ 4000436, 4001071, 0962413 and 4001392). Additionally, APHA holds Good Laboratory Practice and Good Manufacturing Practice approval and complies with the Joint Code of Practice for Research projects and Good Clinical Veterinary Practice quality standards. APHA Weybridge is accredited to BS EN ISO 14001:2004 for environmental management system.
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Summary of data, showing the total number of visits by each species at each site, and the number of sample periods in which that species was observed at least once.
http://inspire.ec.europa.eu/metadata-codelist/LimitationsOnPublicAccess/noLimitationshttp://inspire.ec.europa.eu/metadata-codelist/LimitationsOnPublicAccess/noLimitations
https://eidc.ceh.ac.uk/licences/OGL/plainhttps://eidc.ceh.ac.uk/licences/OGL/plain
This dataset contains information on individual birds caught at nestboxes or via mistnetting at 20 sites along a 35 km urban gradient in Glasgow, Scotland, 2014-2022. For each capture, we recorded the ring number of the individual, morphological parameters, whether samples were obtained and the sample number (blood, feather, faeces). The morphological measurements obtained were: Wing length (total length of the stretched wing, as per BTO guidelines), Weight (to the nearest 0.01 g), Tarsus length (using a caliper with 0.1 cm precision). Data were collected to investigate the effects of urbanisation on daily activity patterns, reproductive traits and population dynamics of passerine birds. Full details about this dataset can be found at https://doi.org/10.5285/9982cf52-7144-4877-9e17-1335f14140d8
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licencehttp://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licence
This spreadsheet is the underlying data for the biodiversity indicator C5, Birds of the wider countryside and at sea.
Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife. Birds occupy a wide range of habitats and there are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations, which help in the interpretation of shorter-term fluctuations in numbers. As they are a well-studied taxonomic group, drivers of change for birds are better understood than for other species groups, which allows for better interpretation of any observed changes. Birds also have huge cultural importance and are highly valued as a part of the UKâ s natural environment by the general public.
The indicator shows changes in the breeding population sizes of common native birds of farmland and woodland and of freshwater and marine habitats in the UK.
The indices show the year-to-year fluctuation in populations, reflecting the observed changes in the survey results, and smoothed trends, which are used with their confidence intervals to formally assess the statistical significance of change over time. Smoothed trends reduce short-term peaks and troughs resulting from, for example, year-to-year weather and sampling variations.
This is one of a suite of 24 UK biodiversity indicators published by JNCC on behalf of Defra; the latest publication date was 19 January 2016 - for indicator C5 the latest data are for 2014. The supporting technical document details the methodology used to create the indicator.
http://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licencehttp://reference.data.gov.uk/id/open-government-licence
Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife in England. This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife. In addition there are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations, which help in the interpretation of shorter term fluctuations in numbers.
The bird population indices have been compiled in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).
Source agency: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Populations of wild birds in England
Index=100 1970 Farmland birds,1970 woodland birds, 1975 Water and wetland birds, 1986 Seabirds, 1975/76 Wintering waterbirds.
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Supplementary feeding of garden birds generally has benefits for both bird populations and human wellbeing. Birds have excellent colour vision, and show preferences for food items of particular colours, but research into colour preferences associated with artificial feeders is limited to hummingbirds. Here, we investigated the colour preferences of common UK garden birds foraging at seed-dispensing artificial feeders containing identical food. We presented birds simultaneously with an array of eight differently coloured feeders, and recorded the number of visits made to each colour over 370 30-minute observation periods in the winter of 2014/15. In addition, we surveyed visitors to a garden centre and science festival to determine the colour preferences of likely purchasers of seed feeders. Our results suggest that silver and green feeders were visited by higher numbers of individuals of several common garden bird species, while red and yellow feeders received fewer visits. In contrast, people preferred red, yellow, blue and green feeders. We suggest that green feeders may be simultaneously marketable and attractive to foraging birds.
The dataset provides a list of the wild birds identified and submitted under both passive and active (targeted) surveillance programmes in Great Britain for testing for Avian Influenza by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The main emphasis in the surveillance programmes is on patrols of designated reserves by skilled wild bird ecologists and wardens to locate “found dead” wild birds, including “mass mortality incidents”. These Warden Patrols continue all-year-round, and are also seasonally targeted in the winter and spring periods (October to March) each year. Members of the public are also asked to remain vigilant for mass bird mortality incidents occurring in any location in GB and report these to the Defra Helpline. The criteria for a “mass mortality incident” are five or more wild birds of any species at any location in England, Scotland and Wales. The dataset contains information on the identity of the bird, the date, location and which samples were taken from those birds and their test results. Please Note: The location represents a 10km x 10km square in which the bird was found. Location data is provided by the submitter and is not verified and, if no location information is available, the location of the testing laboratory may be used. For further information and explanations of the data included in this dataset, please see the data dictionary available for download alongside this dataset. Attribution statement: ©Crown Copyright, APHA 2016
Bird populations have long been considered to provide a good indication of the broad state of wildlife. This is because they occupy a wide range of habitats and respond to environmental pressures that also operate on other groups of wildlife. In addition there are considerable long-term data on changes in bird populations, which help in the interpretation of shorter term fluctuations in numbers.
The bird population indices have been compiled in conjunction with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC).
As part of the improvements to the publication this year, we have combined the two releases into a single release. We hope that this will help users understand differences in data or trends in England compared to the UK.
For more statistics about the status of bird populations internationally, please see the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme website.
Defra statistics: Biodiversity and Wildlife
Email mailto:Biodiversity@defra.gov.uk">Biodiversity@defra.gov.uk