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Bullfinch BAP report

Male bullfinch sitting in birch tree

What are we trying to achieve?

The Government agreed a Biodiversity Action Plan for this species in 1998. The targets for this plan were revised in 2006 and are as follows: 

  • In England, ensure the BBS index is no longer showing a negative trend by 2010 and is at least at 100% of the 2003 level by 2015. In Wales, increase the population to 140% of the 2003 level by 2015. In Northern Ireland and Scotland ensure the population is at 100% of the 2010 baseline by 2015. Immediate priority for Northern Ireland and Scotland will be to establish the baseline population by 2010
  • Maintain the percentage of occupied BBS squares at the 2003 level in the UK, England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, aiming for an increase to 120% of current level by 2015 in Wales

What is the RSPB doing to help?

The RSPB seeks to inform agricultural policy and practice through the application of research and monitoring information. A three-year PhD research project, co-funded by RSPB and based at the University of Oxford, with study sites in and around Otmoor, Oxfordshire, was completed in 2003. In 2004, research results were published in the British Ornithologists’ Union conference proceedings.

In 2005, after considerable RSPB input and lobbying, maintenance of hedgerows of very high environmental value was included within the Higher Level Environmental Stewardship scheme. Currently, no new species-specific research is planned.

Summary of progress

Population indices for farmland birds are based on long-term monitoring schemes; the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)-funded Common Birds Census (CBC), for which 2000 was the final year; and its successor, the BTO/JNCC/RSPB Breeding Bird Survey (BBS). The long-term CBC/BBS trend data show a decline of 51% between 1970 and 2003.

There is still considerable work to be done to achieve the BAP targets, despite their revision. Between 1994 and 2005, bullfinch numbers declined in the UK by a statistically non-significant 1% according to the BBS, indicating that the decline at UK level seems to have been halted. This does, however, reflect an increase in Scotland and Wales against a decline in England.

The results of the RSPB/University of Oxford PhD study reinforced the importance of large hedgerows (4 m x 4 m or bigger), and found that bullfinches have a combined predation/starvation risk – their vulnerability to predation means that they cannot afford to carry fat reserves, which makes starvation at times of food shortage a bigger problem than for some other farmland species.

Has our work been effective?

It is too early to assess if RSPB work is helping to reverse the decline in bullfinch numbers. Our work has been effective in raising awareness of the decline in farmland birds such as the bullfinch, both among farmers and politicians. Further research, encompassing a range of ‘edge’ habitats, may be necessary to clarify the causes of decline.

This species may benefit from some of the generic prescriptions included in some of the agri-environment schemes, such as hedgerow management in the Higher Level and Entry Level Environmental Stewardship schemes in England. It is unlikely that this will result in an increase in hedges of sufficient dimensions to benefit bullfinch at the population level.

What do we plan to do next?

We will:

  • Continue to press for hedgerow establishment and suitable management under the Environmental Stewardship scheme in England and new agri-environment initiatives in other countries of the UK
  • Continue our efforts at UK and EU level to ensure that rural development funding and, in particular, agri-environment funding is increased, not decreased
  • Use the Volunteer &Farmer Alliance to identify farms with bullfinches and encourage farmers to apply for entry to relevant agri-environment schemes and deploy appropriate prescriptive management
  • Consider whether further diagnostic research is necessary, including looking at the farmland/woodland interface

What are the constraints to fully achieving the targets?

  • Lack of widespread prescriptive management due to funding constraints on agri-environment schemes, and a lack of knowledge as to what prescriptive management can be undertaken to benefit bullfinches.

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Last modified: 29 August 2007