A new species, the Blyth’s Reed Warbler, has bred in the UK for the first time, according to the latest report (Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2024) from the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP), the independent body that monitors the country’s rarest breeding birds. A pair raised young at a site in Highland in 2024. The species typically breeds in Scandinavia and Russia, but its arrival as a UK breeding bird had been predicted: its breeding range has shifted west across Sweden and Norway in recent decades, and singing males have been reported in the UK since 2000. This is the first time, however, that a pair has been recorded. Blyth’s Reed Warbler is the fourth new confirmed breeding species that the RBBP has reported in the last ten years, following Iberian Chiffchaff (2015), Black-crowned Night Heron (2017) and Glossy Ibis (2022).
In addition, a new species features in an RBBP report for the first time; two male Red-breasted Flycatchers were reported holding territories in 2024, in woodland in North-east Scotland and Upper Forth, although neither succeeded in attracting a mate.
Beyond these additions to the UK’s breeding birdlife, the report offers grounds for optimism: many rare breeding bird populations flourished in 2024. Wetland birds including Eurasian Spoonbill, Eurasian Bittern, Western Cattle Egret, Great White Egret and Little Egret all reached record totals. These increases reflect a combination of conservation measures, particularly wetland management and creation, and, in some cases, the effects of climate change.
Several birds of prey continued their recovery from historic depletion. Osprey, Marsh Harrier and White-tailed Eagle all reached record totals. Two pairs of Montagu’s Harrier bred, in Suffolk and Wiltshire – the first in the UK since 2020 – although neither pair raised young. Their return nevertheless eased fears that the species might disappear as a UK breeding bird.
In Scotland, several wader species of northern Europe continued the increasing trends reported in recent years. There were high numbers of Red-necked Phalarope and Wood Sandpipers, three confirmed breeding pairs of Purple Sandpiper was the highest total since 2003, and Temminck’s Stint chicks were recorded in the UK for the first time since 1993.
After two years in which bird flu (High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza) affected rare breeding species including Roseate Tern, Mediterranean Gull, White-tailed Eagle and Peregrine Falcon, very few cases were reported in 2024. Near-record levels of productivity in the Roseate Tern colony on Coquet Island, Northumberland, suggests that a recovery is underway already.
Dr Helen Baker, JNCC representative said: “The RBBP continues to provide crucial evidence to support conservation actions and the way in which we manage these highly sensitive data has progressed in recent years, thanks to extra funding from JNCC, Natural England, NRW and the RSPB to keep pace with technical developments. Because of this, the ease with which we can analyse the data has improved and we are now able to report even more information about these important species.”
The Rare Breeding Birds Panel collects breeding data on all species of birds with fewer than 2,000 pairs breeding in the UK. It is one of JNCC’s 11 schemes that monitor species throughout the UK. These monitoring schemes provide the evidence base that underpins effective conservation action. They are critical to helping us understand how nature is faring and whether policies impacting conservation are being successful. These insights on the impact of policies on species, combined with other monitoring data, will also enable us to project the likely impact of conservation polices and their effectiveness.
More information is available in the Rare Breeding Birds in the UK in 2024 report on the Rare Breeding Birds Panel (RBBP website).
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