 Simon Aspinall
The European Roller declined in Europe by more than 20 per cent from 1970 to 1990 and by another 20 per cent in the 1990s
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Mystery shrouds loss of migrant birds
26-05-2006
Mystery is surrounding the huge declines of birds that migrate thousands of miles from Africa to Europe each spring.
Scientists fear that their dwindling numbers may be a warning of widespread environmental damage. Climate change, drought and desertification in Africa, and massive pesticide use on African farmland may all be to blame for the declines of once common UK birds such as the Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa striata, Northern Wheatear Oenanthe oenanthe, Wood Warbler Phylloscopus sibilatrix and European Turtle-dove Streptopelia turtur, a BirdLife Europe-wide study led by the RSPB (BirdLife in the UK) concludes.
At the same time, birds such as the European Roller Coracias garrulus, Pallid Harrier Circus macrourus and Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni have also vanished from regular breeding sites on the continent. All three are now classified as near- or globally threatened.
Dr Fiona Sanderson, a Research Biologist at the RSPB and lead author of the study said, "This is incredibly worrying. We knew that some of these long-distance migrants were declining but we were shocked at the extent of their losses."
"There is something about the migrants’ lifestyle that is making them vulnerable and their declines are reminiscent of those we began to see in farmland birds 30 years ago. Migrants have been slipping away for more than three decades but the scale of their disappearance is only now becoming apparent." —Dr Fiona Sanderson, RSPB
The research, to be published in the journal Biological Conservation, shows that 54 per cent of the 121 long-distance migrants studied have declined or become extinct in many parts of Europe since 1970. The study also compared migrants and resident birds with similar characteristics, and in almost every case, the migrant fared worse.
The RSPB’s Dr Paul Donald, a co-author of the study, said: "These migrants are highly evolved and some range over a quarter of the planet’s land surface. For species like this to be affected so severely suggests that something pretty serious is going wrong somewhere, which cannot be good news for us. These birds used to be common in Europe but many now are rare or extinct in some regions."
Researchers will now investigate four theories for the loss of migrant birds:
Climate change: air temperatures are changing and warmer springs are causing insects to breed earlier. Resident birds may be surviving winters better and, alongside insects, are adapting more quickly to climate change. Long-distance migrants flying from Africa cannot detect the temperature increase that heralds an early spring in Europe and may arrive too late to use the best nest sites and catch the insect food glut on which their young depend.
Drought and agriculture in the Sahel: the Sahel borders the southern Sahara, stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Horn of Africa in the east. It covers 1.6 billion hectares and includes regions of 12 countries. Long term drought and agricultural intensification, including the widespread use of pesticides and fertilisers, has turned much of the Sahel into desert. The area is the first feeding opportunity for migrants crossing the Sahara.
Desertification: the Sahara is now much bigger than it used to be, also because of drought. Migrating birds must fly over this desert in one flight, to reach their winter homes. The birds may be unable to fly further in one go and if so, many will not cope with the longer journey.
Pest control: huge amounts of pesticides are now used to kill locusts and protect crops in Africa, and may be killing birds as well.
 Chris Gomersall
Collaboration between the RSPB and Ghana Wildlife Society has helped to stabilise numbers of Roseate Terns breeding in the UK
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However, there is proof that conservation work for threatened migrants can be effective. The RSPB is working with the Ghana Wildlife Society (BirdLife in Ghana) to help reduce trapping of the Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii. The species's population has now stabilised after a 90 per cent decline in the UK between 1969 and 1992. And White Stork Ciconia ciconia populations have risen across western Europe after successful reintroduction schemes.
BirdLife and its European Partners have launched an environmental education campaign to raise awareness of migrants among children throughout Europe and collect more data about the timing of migration. The initiative, Spring Alive, allows people to record their first sightings of migrants online, and then combine them with thousands of others to produce maps showing the advance of spring.