A young ornithologist has warned that a mosquito-borne virus contributing to the sharp decline of blackbird populations offers a troubling glimpse into the future.
Mya-Rose Craig, 23, from the Chew Valley in Somerset, said the rapid spread of the Usutu virus highlights how British wildlife is under pressure “in ways many people don’t yet recognise.”
Scientists are closely tracking the virus’s progression, with growing concern that climate change could allow mosquitoes—and the diseases they transmit—to expand their range further across the UK.
Ms Craig, known online as BirdGirlUK, has been campaigning for environmental causes since she was 13. She said: “One of the reasons [blackbird decline] concerns me is because it’s getting worse because of climate change.”
She added that with “warmer weather and increased flooding, it feels like kind of a taste of what’s to come”.
Recent data revealed that the Usutu virus has spread across much of southern England within just five years. Over the same period, blackbird numbers in Greater London have dropped by up to 40%.
Ms Craig, who was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol in 2020, told BBC Breakfast: “My biggest concern is that blackbirds are one of the most common species in the UK, they are everywhere.
“When you hear bird song, it’s quite often blackbirds that you are hearing, so I think [their decline] is quite upsetting.”
A passionate advocate for the UK’s often-overlooked “small, brown” birds, Ms Craig said blackbirds are not the only species suffering due to the climate crisis. She noted that starling populations have plummeted by 80% since the 1960s.
“Our garden species are so special, which is why I find it so worrying – the speed of decline we are experiencing at the moment,” she said.
“Our wildlife is really, really struggling in the UK in a way I don’t think people really realise.”
“I think a lot of the time, when we are talking about species decline, it feels very separate, but actually imagine a city without bird song – it has a really terrible knock on effect on people as well,” she said.
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