73 of the UK’s 245 regularly occurring bird species are now on the Red List for conservation concern, the highest number and proportion ever recorded.
The list is reassessed every few years, and it includes birds familiar from any garden alongside species most people will never see.
What the Red List measures – Guide from bird control professionals
Birds of Conservation Concern 5 (BoCC5), published in December 2021, is the current authority on this.
It’s compiled jointly by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), JNCC, NatureScot, Natural England, Natural Resources Wales, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.
Together, they assess all 245 species that regularly occur across the UK, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.
Every species lands on the Red, Amber or Green list depending on factors like population decline, breeding range, and international conservation status.
The figures, and why they’ve moved since 2021
BoCC5’s original December 2021 results put 70 species, 29% of everything assessed, on the Red List. 103 sat on the Amber list, and 72 on Green.
Eleven species were newly Red-listed in that original 2021 review: Greenfinch, Swift, House Martin, Ptarmigan, Purple Sandpiper and Montagu’s Harrier for worsening breeding declines, Bewick’s Swan, Goldeneye, Smew and Dunlin for worsening wintering numbers.
The seabird portion of BoCC5 wasn’t finished until a dedicated addendum published in September 2024, which added more species.
That’s the most recent, complete figure available.
The next full review, BoCC6, isn’t due until 2027.
UK seabirds are in serious decline
Puffin numbers have fallen sharply as sand eels, their main food source, become harder to find as climate change warms the North Sea.
Colonies on cliffs and islands, where puffins breed, are also increasingly vulnerable to storms during the breeding season.
Leach’s storm-petrel is considered globally Vulnerable to extinction, a step beyond a UK-only decline.
Arctic tern, common gull and great black-backed gull joined the Red List alongside it in the September 2024 addendum, all for the same kind of steep population falls.
Great skua joined too, driven largely by avian flu outbreaks in breeding colonies.
Two species improved in the same addendum: shag moved down from Red to Amber, and black guillemot from Amber to Green.
Familiar garden and farmland birds are vanishing too
Turtle dove holds a grim record: it’s the UK’s fastest-declining bird, down around 98% since the 1990s.
There were an estimated 125,000 pairs in the 1970s, falling to roughly 2,092 territories by 2021, driven almost entirely by the loss of the farmland habitat and food it depends on.
House martin and swift joined the Red List for the first time in 2021, both long-distance migrants that winter in sub-Saharan Africa and return each spring to nest under eaves and in roof spaces across British towns.
House sparrow numbers have also fallen substantially in gardens and hedgerows, part of a wider farmland and urban bird decline tied to habitat loss and fewer insects to feed chicks.
Wading birds are quietly disappearing from wet grassland
Curlew was Red-listed in 2015 after losing nearly half its UK breeding numbers over twenty years.
The Breeding Bird Survey shows a 49% decline across the UK between 1995 and 2021, exceeding 50% in Scotland and Wales specifically.
The UK holds a large share of the European breeding population, and curlew is now considered Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List.
Poor chick survival, driven by predation and the loss of wetland and wet grassland habitat, is the main driver, since adult curlews themselves survive well.
Scotland’s uplands hold some of the UK’s rarest birds
Capercaillie, Scotland’s largest woodland bird, is close to disappearing from Scotland altogether.
Around 540 remain, confined to a few small, isolated populations in the Cairngorms and nearby forests, and a NatureScot scientific advisory report warns the species could vanish within two to three decades without intervention.
NatureScot and the Cairngorms National Park Authority now run a Capercaillie Emergency Plan,
This tackles the combination of predation by foxes, crows and pine martens, disturbance from visitors during the breeding season, and fatal collisions with deer fences.
GOV.UK maintains its own list of woodland birds of conservation concern for licensing purposes, with capercaillie among them.
Hen harrier, a bird of prey, has around 460 breeding pairs left in Scotland, down 9% since 2010, with illegal persecution linked to grouse moor management a significant driver alongside habitat loss.
White-tailed eagle’s recovery
White-tailed eagles were extinct in Britain by the early 20th century, and were reintroduced to Scotland via the island of Rum from the 1970s onwards.
The population has grown steadily since, and NatureScot and the RSPB have led reintroduction and monitoring work in Scotland throughout that time.
Even a familiar nuisance bird can be a conservation priority
Herring gull sits on the Red List too.
Its national breeding numbers have fallen sharply since the 1960s, driven by the collapse of many traditional coastal and cliff colonies.
That decline can be true at the same time as gulls feeling more numerous in towns.
Milder urban conditions and easy food have let colonies grow in cities even while the species struggles nationally overall.
Why gull control now needs an individual licence
Herring gulls and lesser black-backed gulls were removed from the general licence for wild bird control in 2019 because of that national decline.
Managing a nesting or roosting problem on a building now needs an individual licence, evidence that non-lethal deterrents were considered first, and a specific legal justification such as public health or property damage.
If gulls or pigeons are causing a problem on your property, our gull control and bird control pages cover how a BPCA-accredited technician handles that lawfully.
We manage the nuisance, but conservation work isn’t part of what we do, and a protected species stays protected regardless of how much of a nuisance it’s causing.
What to do if you find a rare or protected bird
Every wild bird, its nest and its eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Some species get extra protection as Schedule 1 birds, particularly during the breeding season, when disturbing them deliberately is itself an offence.
Call 999 if you witness a wildlife crime happening right now or someone’s in danger.
For a suspected offence that’s already happened, call the police on 101 and ask for a reference number.
For anything less urgent, RSPB Wildlife Enquiries takes calls on 01767 693690 or emails at wildlife@rspb.org.uk.
Don’t post suspected crimes on social media before reporting them properly.
Posting first can tip off whoever’s responsible and make an investigation harder to pursue.
And should you find an injured bird, contact the relevant authority.
Endangered birds in the UK: your questions answered
What is the UK’s most endangered bird?
Turtle dove, covered above, holds the fastest-decline record, though hen harrier and capercaillie have far smaller total populations, so “most endangered” depends on whether you mean rate of loss or raw numbers left.
How many UK bird species are on the Red List?
73 of the 245 regularly occurring species, 30%, once the September 2024 seabird addendum to Birds of Conservation Concern 5 is included. That’s the most recent complete figure available, and BoCC6 isn’t due until 2027.
Why are herring gulls protected if they’re a nuisance bird?
Because a species’ conservation status doesn’t change based on how much of a nuisance one local population is causing. Herring gull numbers have fallen nationally even as some urban colonies have grown, which is why any control work now needs an individual licence rather than a blanket general one.
What should I do if I find a rare bird’s nest?
Leave it undisturbed and report anything suspicious: 999 for a crime in progress, 101 for a suspected offence already committed, or RSPB Wildlife Enquiries on 01767 693690 for general concerns.
Are there any UK bird conservation success stories?
White-tailed eagle, covered above: extinct in Britain by the early 1900s, then reintroduced to Scotland from the 1970s into what’s now an established breeding population.
For bird prevention in Edinburgh, talk to our team today
At Edinburgh Pest Control Co., we believe in managing bird populations humanely, using preventative measures like proofing and deterrents as our first choice wherever possible.
That keeps nuisance populations away from buildings and other features where they create health risks or property damage, with any further action carried out under legal, humane control methods.
If it’s pigeons, gulls or another pest bird causing problems on your Edinburgh property rather than a conservation concern, call us on 0131 322 1291 or get in touch through our contact page. We’ll tell you honestly what we can help with.
