NEARLY 2,000 wildlife species have been lost from the region over the past two centuries – and a further 3,000 are at risk.

That's amongst the stark messages contained in a new hard-hitting report published by the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, whose nature reserves include Low Wood at Riddlesden.

The first-ever State of Yorkshire’s Nature report outlines how urgent action is needed to help arrest the decline.

Species badly affected include curlew, which according to the analysis have been pushed to upland "pockets of safety" due to the loss of lowland wetlands, easily-accessible food sources and a changing climate.

And swifts have declined by half across Yorkshire since 1995, with a drop in insect numbers and suitable roosting sites blamed.

The report was compiled using data from environmental organisations and following years of expert monitoring.

Rachael Bice, for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, says: "Sadly, many of the species we share this amazing county with have been pushed to the brink of collapse.

"It would be a true tragedy for everyone who calls Yorkshire home if we lost the haunting call of the curlew, and the uplifting sight of butterflies dancing across our wildflower meadows.

"We are losing what makes Yorkshire so special, and sleepwalking towards homogenised landscapes where only the most common and adaptable species can survive alongside the demands of human life.

"However, I have hope that this new analysis will direct how we can all work together to reverse declines and see our wildlife bounce back – before it is too late."

Contributors to the report included the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union.

Its executive committee chair, Andy Millard, says: "This detailed study into the current status of, and trends in, some of Yorkshire’s iconic wildlife provides vital information for aiding its conservation and should stimulate further studies into our county’s wonderful natural heritage."

The analysis has also spotlighted a number of positives, with the region providing a haven for two-thirds of the UK’s wildlife species.

Over a third of British breeding tree sparrows are found in Yorkshire, and 21 per cent of the breeding population of the UK’s most threatened resident bird species, willow tits.

The report also reveals that the region supports over two-thirds of all British butterfly and moth species, and is the only place in the country where Yorkshire sandwort, thistle broomrape and lady’s slipper orchids are found.

To read the report in full, go to ywt.org.uk/StateofNature