Nightingales have declined by 90% in the UK since the 1970s due to the loss of the young, dense coppice woodland they depend on. Targeted habitat management can reverse this decline.
Nightingales that cannot locate suitable dense scrub habitat on arrival from Africa cannot establish territories needed for breeding. Males without territories sing from unsuitable habitat but fail to attract females, wasting significant energy on unproductive singing. The loss of coppice woodland across the English landscape has eliminated nightingale habitat at landscape scale, meaning birds that might otherwise breed cannot find adequate territory. Climate change is shifting the timing of peak invertebrate availability, potentially creating a mismatch with the peak energy demands of chick-rearing. Individual birds in areas of low habitat quality experience compounded welfare costs from poor food availability and breeding failure.