Tree Pipit
Anthus trivialis
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Distribution Britain 1,524 (-15.0%) Ireland 5 (0%)
Numbers breeding: Britain 120,000 — Ireland <1 European status: 17,000,000 (1% in Britain and Ireland) British population trend: declining (-56% CBC but up 36% BBS){-62%} How likely are you to record it? 253 squares (5.6%) Ranked 82 |
There are problems with the old records of this species as there was confusion with the Meadow Pipit. However it does seem that there was considerable spread into the north and west to include all mainland Scotland, save parts of Caithness and Grampian, and even some of the Inner Hebrides in the hundred years before the first Breeding Atlas. Over the same period they also spread west into most of Wales and parts of the West Country. The birds now breed regularly in small numbers on the Isle of Man and may be a very rare and overlooked breeding bird in Ireland. This species is able to take advantage of short-term changes to the habitat in exploiting newly formed clearings in forests. It has certainly done well in exploiting the early stages of forestry plantations. However the CBC changes recorded for 1972-96 of a decline of 56% is a cause for considerable concern. The losses recorded in the second Breeding Atlas were particularly concentrated in South-east England. However an increase of 36% in the five year BBS index (1994-98) may show this is misplaced. The losses suffered recently do not seem to be simply a part of the normal fluctuations of this species.
The following Bird On! sketch is available:
Tree Pipit
From
The
State of the Nations Birds
Copyright © 2000 by Chris Mead