Here’s why birds and insects are disappearing all across Scotland
Intensive farming, involving greater pesticide and fertiliser use, pollution and the resulting deterioration of farmland habitats have wreaked havoc on our wildlife but some farmers offer genuine hope for the future
By day, the bright purple lavender was awash with bees, the sound of their humming strong and constant in the heat of the sun. White butterflies gently floated above the fragrant flowers and swallows glided on the winds, silhouetted against the bluest of skies.
By night, a thousand sparks of bright light danced and fluttered along the hedges and up into the field and along the wooded hillside. Fireflies resembling little embers of magic or fairies weaving spells between the leaves and grasses — enchanting and beautiful, but too dark to make out properly, celestial bodies producing a wondrous symphony of light.
Such was the miracle of nature, witnessed in a rarely touched garden wilderness. “Then I returned to England,” a friend said disappointedly. She had come back from Italy after a few days break which served as a harsh reminder of the loss of biodiversity in her own garden.
Shifting baseline syndrome
It showed how declines in the natural world can become normalised and barely recognised. How quickly we forget what thriving biodiversity should look like. How we grow accustomed to the loss and give scant thought to our surroundings.
It’s called ‘shifting baseline syndrome’ and, as a result, the scale of loss becomes invisible to subsequent generations — unless we receive a powerful reminder of a flourishing ecosystem.
I’m of a generation that remembers the multitude of insects that would cover car windscreens following a drive, the difficulty of removing them from the headlights and number plate. Not so nowadays.
The stats are sobering. The latest survey has revealed that the number of insects found on vehicle number plates has plummeted by 63 per cent since 2021. This new data shows a decrease in insect splats across the UK, with the sharpest fall of 65 per cent recorded in Scotland.
According to the United Nations, the rate of extinction among insects is now happening eight times faster than mammals, birds, and reptiles.
War on wildlife
These declines are mirrored in our birdlife, for which one out of every six birds has been lost since 1980. That adds up to the loss of 600 million breeding birds over 40 years.
Industrial farming is largely to blame. The falls in Europe are widely accepted as being driven by agricultural intensification involving greater pesticide and fertiliser use, pollution and the resulting deterioration of farmland habitats.
Keeping large numbers of farmed animals crammed and confined sparked off a new and more deadly form of bird flu which, according to the United Nations has created a perfect storm, wiping out hundreds of millions of birds worldwide.
Taking wildlife as a whole, there has been a catastrophic 73 per cent decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years (1970–2020), according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024. The report warns that parts of our planet are approaching dangerous tipping points driven by the combination of nature loss and climate change which pose grave threats to humanity.
Never before has it been so vital for us all to save, not just wildlife, but humanity too. We are all connected. Thankfully, investments are being made in nature-based solutions which give reason great for hope.
Bringing nature back
In accord with the need to transform our food systems and transition to nature-friendly, sustainable practices, Lynbreck Croft in the Cairngorms National Park is an award winning, multi-enterprise, food-producing business that is firmly rooted in farming with nature and high animal welfare principles.
Owners Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer now produce a diverse range of food from eggs and pork to beef and honey. Recognising that land and animals are our most valuable and essential assets, Lynn and Sandra use regenerative grazing principles, prioritising soil health with a goal to increase biodiversity. They have planted 30,000 native trees and choose animals that are suited to the local climate and natural forage.
Another such example can be found on the east coast of Suffolk, where a family business has established the internationally successful Dingley Dell Pork brand. Animal welfare, taste and sustainability remain the philosophical pillars and foundations of their farm. Rather than simply planting grass to stabilise soil, they saw an opportunity to create pollinator-rich habitats that would not only support farming but would also enhance biodiversity.
They have fulfilled their ambition to bring back a million bees by planting 338,000 square metres (about 83 football pitches) of flowers including phacelia and other nectar mixes in blocks around the farm. A single square metre can contain ten to 12 bumblebees.
Hope is growing
The Wiston Estate in West Sussex shows what long-term biodiversity investment can look like on the ground. With a belief in creating a place where people, nature and enterprise can coexist and flourish, the estate has recently appointed its first full-time ecologist, Penny Green, formerly of the famous Knepp wildlife conservation and rewilding project. Her appointment reflects a growing shift in how forward-thinking estates are putting biodiversity at the centre of strategy.
All of which shows us that hope is not only possible but growing. From family farms to rewilding estates and regenerative crofting, people are showing that a different path is not only necessary but achievable.
These are not just stories of environmental restoration, they are blueprints for renewal. If we choose to act now, to restore what has been lost and protect what remains, we can create a future where bees buzz, birds sing, and fireflies once again light up the night. The time to act is not tomorrow, it’s today.
Philip Lymbery is chief executive of Compassion in World Farming, president of EuroGroup for Animals, and a UN Food Systems Advisory Board member. His latest book is Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-Friendly Future. Philip is on X/Twitter @philip_ciwf
Note: This article was first published in The Scotsman on Friday 11th July, 2026
