Today (Monday 3 April), marks 50 years of the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, the recording scheme for Britain’s rarest birds.
The Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP) monitors some of the UK’s scarcest and most vulnerable birds. Thanks to expert volunteers, data are gathered on species with fewer than 2,000 UK breeding pairs.
Established back in 1973, RBBP is funded by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO).
Over the past 50 years, RBBP has charted the changing fortunes of our rarest birds, highlighting the impacts of climate change, land-use change and conservation initiatives. Since the 1970s, around a third of the list of species monitored by RBBP have undergone strong increases in the UK, including species such as Red Kite; while a quarter have experienced severe declines, including Long-eared Owl and Turtle Dove.
The data produced through the RBBP are used for the regular multi-agency Birds of Conservation Concern reports, as well as for assessments of protected areas such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest and internationally important Special Protection Areas. The data have also been used to inform the targeting of habitat restoration work for species such as Bittern, and fed into reintroduction projects, including for Crane, White-tailed Eagle and Red Kite.
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary, Helen Baker, JNCC Marine Species lead, said: "The contribution that those collecting and submitting data to RBBP have made to bird conservation is both hugely impressive and important. It has allowed the country conservation bodies to develop priorities for action, supporting projects to help understand threats to birds and to recover or enhance populations, and has strongly influenced wildlife law and policy, here in the UK and internationally."
For more information on the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, visit the RBBP website.