It may still feel like summer, but in the world of birds, autumn migration is already well under way. Cuckoos and swifts have already left us, and while swallows and many species of warbler will not depart our shores until September, many species of Arctic-breeding waders have begun to stop off at our coastal marshes to refuel for their long journey south.

This year, however, there could be fewer than usual. A review by the British Trust for Ornithology, working with other international conservation organisations, has found that more than half of these global travellers are suffering major declines in numbers – a worrying downward trend. Many of those under threat use the African-Eurasian flyway, one of the largest mass-migration systems on the planet.

Among many and complex causes of these declines, including habitat loss, disease and pesticide use, one stands out: the climate crisis. It is not just the long-term effects of major shifts that affect migratory birds, but also the extreme weather events that have become far more frequent and intense. The current heatwave across so much of Europe is only the latest – and definitely not the last – of these.

The report calls for conservation strategies that address all of these threats across birds’ lifecycles and along all of the international flyways, combined with efforts closer to home to create and preserve habitats for these vulnerable species.