Britain's rare birds get more common, as common birds get rarer

By John Platt More than half of the U.K.’s rarest birds have seen recent population increases, according to the 10th annual “State of the U.K.’s Birds” report (pdf) .  Published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) in association with several local conservation groups, the report assesses the status of 210 bird species. Of the 63 rarest U.K. bird species (those with fewer than 1,000 breeding pairs), nearly 60 percent have seen population increases. They include the osprey, corncrake, avocet, cirl bunting and stone-curlew, all of which have enjoyed the benefits of focused conservation programs. At the same time, 28 percent of the rare birds have seen population drops. The common scoter, for example, is down to just 52 breeding pairs, and could go extinct in the U.K. in 10 years, according to the RSPB. …

Britain’s rare birds get more common, as common birds get rarer