Forestry Statistics 2011 - Environment

Populations of wild birds

The index for woodland birds was expanded in 2007 to cover 38 species, of which 12 are generalists and 26 are woodland specialists (those that breed or feed mainly or solely in woodland).

Since the early 1990s, the UK woodland bird index has generally been about 20 per cent below the level of the early 1970s, with the decline predominantly in woodland specialist species.

Table 5.3 UK populations of wild birds
Year	Total breeding birds	Farmland birds	Seabirds	Woodland birds	Woodland generalists	Woodland specialists
index (year 2000 = 100)
2000	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
2001	99.3	99.7	99.9	97.8	97.4	98.0
2002	98.3	99.1	99.3	94.9	94.5	95.1
2003	99.8	99.1	95.9	97.4	98.0	97.3
2004	97.7	97.9	88.5	95.8	96.2	95.5
2005	100.2	96.7	92.5	102.0	103.2	101.6
2006	99.9	96.2	96.3	96.5	97.7	96.0
2007	99.0	90.4	95.1	98.9	105.0	96.1
2008	102.5	92.7	91.9	106.7	107.6	105.7
2009	97.0	89.5	94.7	94.5	99.7	91.7

Source: British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Notes:

1. Based on data in Wild Bird Populations statistics release (Defra, January 2011).

Figure 5.1 UK populations of woodland birds

Figure 5.1 UK populations of woodland birds