CBS: Breeding birds are abundant in the Netherlands, but not everywhere

The numbers of bird species breeding in the Netherlands last year were more than 28 percent larger on average than in 1990. This was calculated by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) based on statistics coordinated by bird research company Sophon.

Of the 185 species observed, 92 species increased, 83 decreased, nine species remained stable, and the trend of one species was uncertain.

According to Netherlands statistics, the numbers of 59 species that prefer to breed in swamps and freshwater areas have increased on average by about three times. This concerns, for example, the great white egret and the barnacle goose. According to the statistics office, the increase can be mainly attributed to species that are beginning to breed in the Netherlands for the first time or again, such as the white-tailed eagle, eagle owl, and crane.

The strongest declines can be observed among farmland birds. The population of this group of birds has decreased by 45 percent. Of the 27 species, 21 species have declined. They are mainly species that prefer to breed in open agricultural land, such as lapwings, lapwings, and oystercatchers. According to CBS, there are also more common species, such as the goldfinches and goldfinches.

The number of birds that prefer to breed in sand dune areas also decreased by 40 percent. This occurred mainly before 2010, due to overgrowth of open sand dunes. Since that year there has been a recovery, and in the past twelve years the number of species has increased more than it has decreased.

Statistics Netherlands says that all kinds of factors determine the number of birds. These factors include climate, weather, reproductive success and mortality due to bird flu, for example. The latter was the main reason for the decline in the number of sandwich terns. This is down more than 40 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year.