Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) sparrows, (b) robins, (c) blue tits, (d) gold finches and (e) green finches in the UK (i) as of 1 February 2023 and (ii) in 2012.
Annual population estimates do not exist for most UK bird species. The Avian Population Estimates Panel estimates of the for these species in 2020 and 2013 are as follows:
Species | UK population estimate in 2020 (number of breeding pairs) | UK population estimate in 2013 (number of breeding pairs) |
House sparrow | 5,300,000 | 5,100,000 |
Tree sparrow | 245,000 | 200,000 |
Robin | 7,350,000 | 6,700,000 |
Blue tit | 3,400,000 | 3,600,000 |
Goldfinch | 1,650,000 | 1,200,000 |
Greenfinch | 785,000 | 1,700,000 |