How UK's birds are being affected by a changing climate

By Helen BriggsBBC News

5 December 2017

Migratory birds are arriving in the UK earlier each spring and leaving later each autumn, a report has confirmed.

Some visitors are now appearing more than 20 days earlier than they did in the 1960s, according to the state of the UK's birds 2017 report.

The swallow, for instance, is arriving 15 days earlier than 50 years ago.

Ongoing monitoring is essential to track the future effects of a changing climate on birds, says a coalition of wildlife organisations.

The report is by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) , the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the UK's nature conservation bodies. It pulls together data from the latest bird surveys and monitoring studies.

The report warns that there will be winner and losers in a changing world, with opportunities for some bird species but higher extinction risks for others.

Some, such as the night heron, are breeding in the UK for the first time as their range expands north, while others, such as the snow bunting are in decline.

Dr Daniel Hayhow, lead author of the report, said familiar species such as swallows and sand martins are changing their migratory behaviour.

''We need to take that almost as a warning sign,'' he told BBC News.

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First Bewick’s swans arrive at Slimbridge much earlier than usual

Bewick's swans (Cygnus columbianus bewikii) are the smallest of the three types of swan found in Britain. Usually, they mate for life and the pairs spend each summer at nesting and nursing sites in northern Russia. Then, in September/October, with the Arctic winter beginning, large groups of families start moving in stages across north western Europe, seeking warmer weather. 

Many settle in the Netherlands but, traditionally, around 3,000 - 5,000 travel on to Britain, to overwinter around the rivers Ouse (WWT Welney, Norfolk), Ribble (WWT Martin Mere, Lancashire) and Severn (WWT Slimbridge, Gloucestershire). A unique bill recognition system means WWT is able to identify many of the visitors by name and knows their full family history, sometimes stretching back 20 years or more.

Bewick's swans make early arrival bringing winter to WWT Slimbridge

October 2010. The first Bewick's swans of the season have arrived at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire, heralding the start of winter - and it may mean that it could be even colder than last winter.

Staff opening up the Centre on October 18th saw the eight swans on the Rushy Lake at dawn. It is the earliest they have arrived since 2003, when they also arrived on the 18th. A couple of the swans called Riso and Risa are among these first returning Bewick's; Risa has been coming here for 13 years.

Arrived with last years 5 chicks

They arrived with five yearlings which were last year's juveniles. These weren't named last year as their unique bill pattern, which they are identified from, takes time to form. The eighth Bewick's to arrive is still waiting to be identified. 

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