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Investigation Into the Causes of the Decline of Starlings and House Sparrows in Great Britain

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Investigation Into the Causes of the Decline of Starlings and House Sparrows in Great Britain BTO Research Report No 290 Investigation into the causes of the decline of Starlings and House Sparrows in Great Britain Edited by Humphrey Q. P. Crick, Robert A. Robinson, Graham F. Appleton, Nigel A. Clark & Angela D. Rickard A report to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs by A consortium led by the British Trust for Ornithology Consortium Members: British Trust for Ornithology Central Science Laboratory Royal Society for the Protection of Birds/University of Oxford & WildWings Bird Management July 2002 © Copyright: Consortium Members British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU Registered Charity No. 216652 Editors' Note [added after report was produced] Starlings Sturnus vulgaris and House Sparrows Passer domesticus are amongst the most widespread and abundant bird species in the world. This is due, in large part, to the fact that both species are highly commensal with man and appear to benefit from the presence of towns and farms. For many years in Britain and elsewhere, both Starlings and House Sparrows have been considered as disease-carrying or agricultural pests and both species also gather in large urban roosts where fouling of pavements and buildings can be a significant problem. In the 1990s, it became clear that both species were undergoing rapid declines (greater than 50% over 25 years) in Britain, such that they had become candidate species for inclusion on the Red List of Species of Conservation Concern and as Priority Species under Britain’s Biodiversity Action Plan. The reasons for these declines in the wider countryside were unknown and there were indications that they were also declining in urban situations. Worries over these population declines began to spread to the wider public, such that a national daily newspaper instituted a £5000 reward for the discovery of the main cause of the decline of the House Sparrows. The concern over declining farmland birds led to DEFRA adopting, as one of its eight Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets, the goal of reversing the long-term decline in the number of farmland birds by 2020. This is measured annually using the ‘farmland bird index’ which comprises population trend information for 20 species, including Starling but not House Sparrow. To meet this target, DEFRA has commissioned several research projects to identify ways in which the decline can be reversed. In October 2000, DEFRA commissioned a consortium, led by the BTO, to investigate the causes of the population declines of Starling and House Sparrow in Great Britain. A better understanding of the factors affecting breeding populations was required to ensure that legal control is not a contributory factor in their decline. DEFRA particularly wished to ensure that the urban and suburban populations of these species were embraced within the study, as very little was known about population trends in these habitats. The report is available below. The Executive Summary provides a brief overview of the main results, for a more discursive summary, see Chapter 12 which pulls together most of the key findings from the individual chapters. See the individual chapters for the details of particular aspects of this work. This report should be cited as: Crick, H.Q.P., Robinson, R.A., Appleton, G.F. Clark, N.A. & Rickard, A.D. 2002. (eds) Investigation into the causes of the decline of starlings and house sparrows in Great Britain. BTO Research Report 290. Defra, London. Some of the Chapters have subsequently been published in revised form in the following papers. Robinson, R.A., Siriwardena, G.M. & Crick, H.Q.P. 2005. Status and population trends of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris in Great Britain. Bird Study 52: 252-260. (Chapter 2). Robinson, R.A., Siriwardena, G.M. & Crick, H.Q.P. 2005. Status and population trends of the House Sparrow Passer domesticus in Great Britain. Ibis 147:552-562. (Chapter 3). Freeman, S.N., Robinson, R.A., Clark, J.A., Griffin, B.M. & Adams, S.Y. 2007. Changing demography and population decline in the Starling Sturnus vulgaris: a multi-site approach to integrated population modelling. Ibis 149:587-596. (Chapter 7). Robinson, R.A., Siriwardena, G.M. & Crick, H.Q.P. 2006. The population decline of the Starling Sturnus vulgaris in Great Britain: patterns and causes. Acta Zoologica Sinica 52:S550-S553. (The Starling part of Chapter 12). Contents CONTENTS Page No EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... ix 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1 H.Q.P. Crick 1.1 THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY .................................................. 2 1.2 THE CONSORTIUM ................................................................................................... 3 1.3 WORKPLAN AND OUTLINE OF THE REPORT.................................................. 4 1.3.1 Collation and preparation of data sets ...................................................... 4 1.3.2 The analysis of the population trends of Starling and House Sparrow nationally and in relation to habitats and regions.................................... 4 1.3.3 The investigation of variation in the demography of Starling and House Sparrow populations................................................................ 5 1.3.4 National Survey of farmers and Local Authorities .................................. 5 1.3.5 Assessment of the factors that might be most influential in causing the declines of Starling and House Sparrow............................... 6 1.4 DATA PROCESSING .................................................................................................. 6 1.4.1 Garden Bird Feeding Survey (GBFS) data............................................... 6 1.4.2 Nest Record Scheme (NRS) data ............................................................... 6 1.4.3 Ringing Data ............................................................................................... 6 1.5 THE SPECIES.............................................................................................................. 7 1.5.1 The Starling ................................................................................................. 7 1.5.2 The House Sparrow..................................................................................... 8 2. STATUS AND POPULATION TRENDS OF THE STARLING Sturnus vulgaris IN GREAT BRITAIN ........................................................................................ 11 R.A. Robinson, G.M. Siriwardena & H.Q.P. Crick 2.1 CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 11 2.2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 11 2.3 METHODS ................................................................................................................... 12 2.3.1 Data Sources ............................................................................................... 12 2.3.1.1 Common Birds Census ............................................................... 12 2.3.1.2 Garden Bird Feeding Survey ..................................................... 13 2.3.1.3 Breeding Bird Survey ................................................................. 13 2.3.2 Statistical Models ........................................................................................ 14 2.3.2.1 CBC and GBFS............................................................................ 14 2.3.2.2 BBS ........................................................................................ 15 2.4 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 16 2.4.1 How many Starlings are there? ................................................................. 16 2.4.2 Long-term trends ........................................................................................ 16 2.4.3 Correlates of population decline ................................................................ 23 2.5 DISCUSSION ............................................................................................................... 27 2.5.1 Population Estimates.................................................................................. 27 2.5.2 The Starling population decline................................................................. 27 APPENDIX 2.1 Summary of population trends of Starlings breeding and wintering in different populations in Europe............................................................. 30 i BTO Research Report No 290 July 2002 Contents 3. STATUS AND POPULATION TRENDS OF THE HOUSE SPARROW Passer domesticus IN GREAT BRITAIN................................................................................ 33 G.M. Siriwardena, R.A. Robinson & H.Q.P. Crick 3.1 CHAPTER SUMMARY ............................................................................................. 33 3.2 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 33 3.3 METHODS ................................................................................................................... 35 3.3.1 Data Sources ............................................................................................... 35 3.3.1.1 Common Birds Census ..............................................................
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