The latest assessment of the status of all the UK’s 245 regularly-occurring bird species – Birds of Conservation Concern 5 – shows that 70 species are now of ‘highest conservation concern’ and have been placed on the assessment’s Red List. The newly revised Red List now includes familiar species, such as the Swift, House Martin and Greenfinch that have been added for the first time.

Birds of Conservation Concern 5 is a report compiled by a coalition of the UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations reviewing the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man. Each species was assessed against a set of objective criteria and placed on either the Green, Amber or Red List – indicating an increasing level of conservation concern.

The report adds to a wealth of evidence that many of our bird populations are in trouble. Amongst the new additions to the Red List are the Swift, House Martin and Greenfinch.

The report placed 70 species on the Red List, 103 on the Amber list and 72 on the Green list. Worryingly, the Red List now accounts for more than one-quarter (29%) of the UK species, more than ever before, and almost double the figure (36 species) noted in the first review in 1996. Most of the species were placed on the Red List because of their severe declines, having halved in numbers or range in the UK in recent decades. Others remain well below historical levels or are considered under threat of global extinction.

Swift and House Martin have both moved from the Amber to the Red List owing to an alarming decrease in their population size (58% since 1995 and 57% since 1969 respectively). These join other well-known birds, such as the Cuckoo and Nightingale, already on the Red List, which migrate between the UK and sub-Saharan Africa each year. Work to address their declines must focus on both their breeding grounds here and throughout the rest of their migratory journey, which requires international cooperation and support.

The body of this feature has been restricted...