Abstract

Natural England and the RSPB have collaborated on species-focused conservation projects for several decades. Since 2005, this has been through a formal ‘Action for Birds in England’ partnership programme. Here, we review the conservation delivered through this partnership and assess the progress achieved and lessons learnt for the nearly 50 species of bird targeted. We show that around 70% of research and recovery projects either partially or completely achieved their goals. There have been notable successes for some species, such as the Red Kite Milvus milvus and the Cirl Bunting Emberiza cirlus, but other species, notably more widespread and more abundant species, have so far failed to recover. We conclude that the scale of investment in conservation action needs to be markedly increased if we are to successfully address the biodiversity crisis in England.