A Priority Species

In Northern Ireland there are a number of plants and animals that are under threat and require conservation action. These species have been identified as Priority Species and the list stands at 481. Scientific criteria have been devised in order to identify these species and species which meet any one of 7 various criteria are considered to be Priority. The Swift, Apus apus, has thus been declared a priority species by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)  because it has been identified as being in rapid decline i.e. 2% or more of a population decline per year.