The Times reports for decades the population of the bird has been in decline. Now conservationists say a push to rescue precious eggs from military airfields — a favoured habitat — is their only chance at survival. 

The Daily Mail reports as an avian flu outbreak wreaks havoc across the UK and sparks increasing concern from the Government, Geoffrey Lean asks what will happen next and does the disease pose a threat to human health. 

The Independent reports the RSPB has described the deaths of great skuas, gannets, guillemots and terns as a “wake up call” for the Scottish government, which it says must “urgently” develop an action plan to protect wild birds. 

The Independent reports threatened birds such as skylarks and curlew nest on the ground in the countryside. 

The Times reports the average number of greenfinches per count in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in January rose by eight per cent, which the charity said was a “glimmer of hope” following a steep decline in the population since 1993 due to the parasitic disease trichomonosis. 

The Times reports the migratory routes of 1,400 birds have been tracked to find where they would be most vulnerable to being killed by new onshore wind turbines and power lines. Scientists fitted satellite tags to 27 species such as eagles, gulls, owls, storks and swans to create a comprehensive map for the UK, continental Europe and north Africa to guide planning of wind farms and the high-voltage lines needed to carry supplies of renewable energy.  

The BBC report habitats of endangered ground-nesting birds are being increasingly threatened by recreation in the New Forest, conservationists have warned. Prof Russell Wynn of Wild New Forest said populations of both curlew and lapwing have more than halved in the last two decades. Signposts have been put in place to warn visitors of “red areas” known to have nesting populations. Forestry England said the birds were “under real threat”. 

i News reports homeowners renovating period properties are inadvertently destroying nesting sites for endangered birds in a quest to make their homes more energy efficient, conservationists have warned. Swifts usually nest in holes near the roofs of properties, but renovation work is plugging these gaps and making it more difficult for the birds to breed. 

The Telegraph reports our migratory birds are in decline – but a new campaign aims to lure them back. 

Daily Mail reports traditionally swallows head south at the end of summer because the European winter is too cold for the flying insects on which they feed. (…) But with the run of mild winters in recent years a small number of swallows have been able to attempt to spend the winter months here.