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Researchers make concerning discovery after noticing iconic birdsong growing quieter: 'Having a big impact'

"We think the situation there has [gotten] much worse."

"We think the situation there has [gotten] much worse."

Photo Credit: iStock

The songs of the English nightingale have grown softer in recent years as its numbers plummet, and now researchers have uncovered the alarming reason why, BBC Countryfile reported.

What's happening?

Nightingales are common throughout Europe, but they're dwindling rapidly in southern England, where they were once abundant. 

Since 1995, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reports that the population has dropped by 42%, and just 5,500 males remain. The BTO investigated the sharp drop by tagging nightingales with tiny data-gathering backpacks to track their winter migration, Countryfile reported.

They discovered the problem was that, unlike their European cousins, English nightingales don't spread out evenly across western Africa over the winter. Instead, they all concentrate in a small area in The Gambia, Africa's smallest nation. As its name implies, the country is a narrow strip of land on either side of the Gambia River. 

Therein lies the problem: the nightingales are overly dependent on a limited area experiencing profound ecological challenges. 

Dr Chris Hewson, senior research ecologist at BTO, told Countryfile: "The Gambia has had two severe droughts and overgrazing by goats is having a big impact on the scrubby habitat the birds rely on. We think the situation there has got much worse since the 1960s and it's over that period that our nightingale population has declined so severely."

Why are the falling numbers of nightingales a concern?

The nightingale's preferred habitat is rapidly disappearing in The Gambia because of increased natural disasters and the amount of land cleared for livestock. This story highlights the unforeseen consequences that come with the planet-heating pollution that drives extreme weather events

Despite accounting for less than 0.01% of global carbon dioxide emissions, according to the International Monetary Fund, the small country has suffered disproportionately from the consequences of dirty energy

Over the last 60 years, the average temperature across Western Africa has risen by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit and is projected to increase by around 5 to 11 degrees by the end of the century without drastic intervention. Unless the English nightingale can be lured to a more suitable winter ground, it might not be around much longer.

When wildlife species become extinct, food chains are disrupted and entire ecosystems can be damaged. 

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What measures are being taken to protect the birds?

The BTO's research efforts have helped identify the problem, and some measures are being taken locally to protect nightingale habitats. These include coppicing and controlling the deer populations that threaten the scrubby woodlands on which they depend. 

The broader issue of their diminishing winter habitats requires collective action to address. Aside from trying to lure the birds elsewhere, reducing dependency on polluting fuel sources by adopting clean energy and reducing waste are small but essential steps that can be taken to help. 

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