New Delhi: Climate change is now dictating how the UK’s birds live, where they breed, and how they find food. According to a new report by researchers in the UK, without any interventions, the high emissions that drive climate change are also likely to wipe out nearly 70 per cent of seabird populations by 2050.
The report, published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), a major wildlife conservation charity in the UK, says some of the country’s most vulnerable birds are already facing a sharp decline.
“Upland birds like Dotterels and Golden Plovers face challenges from changing soil moisture and habitat conditions, while seabirds such as Puffins, Fulmars, and Arctic Terns, are affected by warming seas, reduced prey availability, and increased storm exposure,” read the report.
The report which analysed the effect of climate change on birds highlighted that between 1850 and 1900 and then 2011 and 2020, global surface temperatures rose by 1.1 degrees Celsius. Extreme heat events that would occur once every 50 years now happen nearly five times more often, the report said.
“Climate change is already affecting the UK and has the potential to cause unprecedented impacts to birds and nature more widely. However, we know the solutions. When we help look after nature, nature can help to build our resilience to climate change. We need coordinated and urgent action from governments that gives nature a central role to help us adapt,” said Bethany Chamberlain, a senior RSPB policy officer in a statement.
Birds are uniquely valuable “climate indicators”. They are ecologically diverse and widely distributed across the globe making them particularly sensitive to environmental changes across different landscapes.
However, a warmer climate does not signal a uniform decline of all types of birds. Instead, it leads to a redistribution and restructuring of bird populations.
While seabirds like the Puffins, Fulmas, and Arctic Tern, suffer due to warmer seas, changes in plankton and therefore less food, other birds like the Little Egret benefit from the milder winters and have grown in numbers across the UK.
Other species like the Willow Warbler, one found in several parts of the UK is now a rarity in southern England where conditions are less suitable for its survival. Instead, it has grown more abundant in Scotland where temperatures are cooler.
Some of these birds also time their migration and breeding to coincide with days when spring caterpillars are abundant.
“Yet, unpredictable weather patterns and earlier springs mean that these timings are increasingly out of sync,” read a RSPB statement.