The Daily Telegraph reports gulls and feral pigeons can survive by scavenging from humans while other birds suffer from the loss of wild spaces. A poll by Gardeners’ World magazine found that sightings of some of Britain’s best-loved garden birds had dropped over the past two years, while readers were increasingly spotting the scavenging birds. While overall sightings grew by 11 per cent, the poll, which had 2,500 respondents, revealed that some birds were being spotted less often, including blackbirds, blue tits and sparrows. 

The Guardian reports the willow tit has become Britain’s fastest declining resident bird, and one of half a dozen imperilled woodland species, according to the definitive survey of the country’s birds. Numbers of the diminutive tit, a subspecies unique to the UK, have plummeted by 94% since 1970, and by a third since 2008.