Island birds put on RSPB red list

The red list is reserved for birds that are globally threatened or have faced sharp declines in the UK.

Nature lover Vic Froome is involved in several local nature groups, including the Pollinator Project and La Societe, and has 40 years’ local experience bird watching. He was not surprised by the latest findings. Greenfinches have moved directly from the green to the red list after a population crash of 62% since 1993 caused by a severe outbreak of the disease trichomonosis. The illness is spread through infected water and food and causes growths.

‘Greenfinches have really gone down,’ Mr Froome said.

Local RSPB committee member Ian Le Page said he had seen the illness affect several species of local finch, including goldfinches and chaffinches. The birds appeared unwell and often have growths.

‘The birds go from bird feeder to bird feeder and leave traces of it behind,’ he said.

‘The advice is to take down the bird feeder for a few weeks and sterilise it.’

However, this often leads to birds just going to other feeders.

Mr Le Page said he was very supportive of people feeding birds, especially as more unpredictable weather caused by climate change can impact birds usual food sources.

Swifts and house martins have also been added to the red list.

Mr Froome said there were some resident swifts locally, although numbers had dropped.

‘I remember swifts used to scream around Town Church,’ he said.

He has been involved in a project to get more swift boxes up. While the ones at Town Church are not yet occupied, several others are, including one at Creaseys.

Mr Froome said people often did not know swifts were nesting nearby.

‘They go up into the roof to nest and you just don’t know they are there,’ he said.

House martins dislike being disturbed. Mr Le Page said house martins would often nest in old buildings, but as these buildings get done up the nests are removed.

The weather can also have an impact.

‘There’s not mud in July now for them to make their nests,’ Mr Froome said.

‘I’m encouraging people to allow muddy puddles.’

Puffins have remained on the red list. Mr Froome said he was not surprised, with global warming encouraging the birds north for cooler conditions. ‘Puffin numbers have stabilised locally, but it is nothing compared to the old days, when there used to be 5,000 around the Channel Islands.’ He said one of the issues for birds was the drop in insects, which many of them feed on, and that had a knock-on effect for birds.

‘We used to go on holiday and the car was full of flies,’ he said.

‘But now that is very rare. Insects are having a hard time.’

While there is a lot of bad news, Mr Froome said he was given hope by the fact people were paying more attention to nature.

‘I think it’s been good to scare humans, to shake them up and say you can’t do this any more,’ he said.

‘We’ve got to leave the world a better place. And we are making some progress.’