Birds of Conservation Concern 5, commonly known as the Red List for Birds was published in December 2021. It is the 4th review of the status of birds in the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, and supersedes the previous assessment carried out in 2015.
245 species of breeding, passage, or wintering birds in the UK were assessed on criteria including conservation status at global and European levels, and, within the UK, historical decline, trends in population and range, rarity, localised distribution, and international importance.
For a bird to be put on the Red List it must satisfy one of the following criteria:
Globally threatened.
Historical population decline in the UK between 1800 and 1995.
At least a 50% decline in the UK breeding population over the last 25 years.
At least 50% contraction of UK breeding range over the last 25 years.
70 species, or 29% of those assessed are now on the Red List, up from 67 species in 2015, and 36 species in 1996, when the first review took place.
The golden oriole which was previously on the Red List has not bred in the UK since 2009 and is now officially lost as a breeding bird joining eight other species including the previously widespread wryneck.
There has been no improvement in the status of farmland and upland birds with more species moved to the Red List
There is concern over the status of wintering wildfowl and wetland birds with Bewick’s swan, smew, and dunlin joining the Red List.
The number of long-distance migrants on the Red List, particularly those that spend the winter in the humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa continues to grow.
Nine of the UK’s birds are threatened with global extinction including the kittiwake and Leach’s storm-petrel.
The greenfinch and the ptarmigan moved directly from the Green List to the Red List.
The white-tailed eagle moved off the Red List to the Amber List.
Four new breeding species (great white egret, cattle egret, little bittern, and black-winged stilt) and one non-breeding species (yellow-browed warbler) were included in this review.
There are 70 species on the Red List. Those highlighted in red were new additions to the list in 2021.
| Arctic skua | Kittiwake | Savi’s warbler |
| Balearic shearwater | Lapwing | Scaup |
| Bewick’s swan | Leach’s storm petrel | Shag |
| Black grouse | Lesser spotted woodpecker | Skylark |
| Black-tailed godwit | Linnet | Slavonian grebe |
| Capercaillie | Long-tailed duck | Smew |
| Cirl bunting | Marsh tit | Spotted flycatcher |
| Common scoter | Marsh warbler | Starling |
| Corn bunting | Merlin | Swift |
| Corncrake | Mistle thrush | Tree pipit |
| Cuckoo | Montagu’s harrier | Tree sparrow |
| Curlew | Nightingale | Turtle dove |
| Dotterel | Pochard | Twite |
| Dunlin | Ptarmigan | Velvet scoter |
| Fieldfare | Puffin | Whimbrel |
| Goldeneye | Purple sandpiper | Whinchat |
| Grasshopper warbler | Red-backed shrike | White-fronted goose |
| Greenfinch | Red-necked grebe | Willow tit |
| Grey partridge | Red-necked phalarope | Wood warbler |
| Hawfinch | Redpoll | Woodcock |
| Hen harrier | Ring ouzel | Yellow wagtail |
| Herring gull | Ringed plover | Yellowhammer |
| House martin | Roseate tern | |
| House sparrow | Ruff |
2 Responses
I agree wholeheartedly as all birds whether common scarce or rare should have the full weight of the law behind them. Anyone who contravenes should have the full weight of the law thrown at them. But is our lawmakers or this present government going to allow the constant destruction of green field sites.
They have plans for 1.5 million new houses, also Gatwick expansion what happened to the biodiversity and our obligation to be carbon neutral. All our wild places need protecting now more than ever and it’s everyone’s right has to say enough is enough
I find it Sad that top Restaurants are still serving Wood cock and teal. These should both be protected species. People will pay far more to see these beautiful birds alive than they will do to eat them.