Streets Named After Birds Boom In UK - 356% For Skylarks, 156% For Starlings; Actual Bird Counts Continue To Collapse
Britain’s street names are being inspired by skylarks, lapwings and starlings, even as bird populations decline. According to a report by the RSPB, names such as Skylark Lane and Swift Avenue are increasingly common. Using OS Open Names data from 2004 to 2024, the conservation charity found that road names featuring bird species had risen by 350% for skylarks, 156% for starlings and 104% for lapwings, despite populations of these having fallen in the wild.
Between 1970 and 2022 the UK lost 53% of its breeding skylarks, 62% of lapwings and 89% of nightingales. The RSPB’s chief executive, Beccy Speight, said the analysis “shows councils and developers are happy to name streets after the nature we love while efforts to prevent these birds disappearing from our skies remain woefully inadequate”.
The 2023 State of Nature report called the UK “one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth”, and wild bird numbers have plummeted since the 1970s. The RSPB study also found that “meadow” in street names had risen by 34%, though wildflower meadows are down 97% since the 1930s.
The RSPB called for the government to do more to support nature, with the planning and infrastructure bill for England entering its final stages. In October it reneged on backing an amendment to the bill calling for swift bricks to be installed in every new home. Swift road names have grown by 58%.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/05/street-names-birds-britain-rise-populations-plummet
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