Those of us old enough to remember springs from decades past can tell that the difference in the dawn chorus these days is audible. Or rather, it’s a lot less audible. The dawn chorus still happens, of course, but it is quieter, thinner, and missing a number of voices that were once commonplace. That is no mere nostalgia: it is simply what the data shows.
The Breeding Bird Survey (BBS), the main scheme for monitoring population changes in the UK’s most common breeding birds, recently published its latest findings. The picture is bleak. The survey is jointly funded by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), two of the largest nature charities in the UK, alongside the government’s advisers on international nature conservation, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC). The survey draws on the research of nearly 3,000 volunteers in order to gather the data for the BBS, which tracks population trends for 119 bird species and nine mammal species, making it the most detailed annual assessment of UK wildlife.
Evidence in numbers
Professor Juliet Vickery, CEO of BTO, said: “Despite decades of effort to reverse some of the severe challenges faced by many of the UK’s birds, we are still witnessing catastrophic declines across many of our landscapes. These songsters are important indicators of the health of our natural world, a natural world on which we all depend.”
The willow tit has declined by 92% since 1995, the largest fall of any songbird tracked by the survey. Woodland species have been hit particularly hard: wood warblers are down 82%, spotted flycatchers, 61%, and pied flycatchers, 52%.
The chaffinch, one of the most familiar voices in any spring garden, has declined by 36% across the UK since 1995, and by 48% in England alone over that same period. The main driver of this decline is thought to be trichomonosis, a virulent parasitical disease found originally in members of the finch family. It is this same disease that was responsible for a 68% collapse in greenfinch numbers between 2008 and 2018, and a fall of more than 40% in collared doves since 2005.
The effects of climate change
It’s not just about disease, either. Climate change appears to be pushing the willow warbler northward while its southern populations collapse. In eastern England, the decline since 1995 now stands at 89%, 88% in the south-east, and in the south-west, 68%. Across England as a whole, the species is down 47% over the same period, even as numbers grow further north and in Northern Ireland.
The song thrush appears to be recovering in more northerly regions but has seen no improvement in the south-west or south-east, and in London has continued to fall by 47% since 1995. Its larger relative, the mistle thrush, has declined almost everywhere: 40% across the UK, with London recording an 81% fall, east England 72%, and the south-east 62%.
The house sparrow, whose cheery chirping practically defines the urban dawn chorus, reached its lowest ever recorded population level in 2025, continuing a collapse that began in the 1970s and 1980s.
Conservation efforts are effective
The picture is not uniformly negative, though. Reed warbler numbers have risen 51% since 1995, a gain attributed to the creation and restoration of wetland habitats. It is a salient reminder that targeted, large-scale human intervention can produce significant and measurable improvements, even if those results remain the exception for now.
Dr James Heywood, BBS national organiser, acknowledged that there is a need to keep encouraging people to go out and listen to the dawn chorus and record their findings, even if the results may not always be encouraging: “The dawn chorus is still a major highlight in nature’s calendar, and I would encourage everyone to get out there and enjoy it. However, what BBS shows is that the future of this remarkable free symphony is at risk of becoming little more than a whisper if we do not act.”
This article was adapted from a press release with the assistance of AI and edited by a real human.
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
