STANDING at the bird feeder, I noticed I wasn't alone.

A beautiful red-breasted robin was watching as I crumbled half a loaf of bread onto the table.

The bird is a regular visitor to my late mother's garden. We'd often comment about his arrival and my mum had said robins were territorial so it was a comfort to see him there.

While we are all encouraged to look after nature, living and working in and around towns and cities we often don't get to see or appreciate birds as much as we should, but we need to make a conscious effort to help protect our feathered friends in future.

Thankfully, the robin isn't under threat but many other bird species are. According to the Birds of Conservation Concern 4 report, compiled by a coalition of the UK's leading bird conservation and monitoring organisations which review the status of all regularly occurring birds in the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, 67 species are now of 'highest conservation concern.'

Among those now appearing on the revised 'Red List' are well-known birds such as the curlew, puffin and nightingale. They join other species such as the turtle dove, cuckoo and starling.

The Red List now accounts for more than one-quarter (27 per cent) of the UK species and is far higher than the last assessment in 2009 when 52 species were on the Red List. Most of the 67 species were placed on the Red List because of their severe declines, having halved in numbers or range in the UK in recent decades. Others remain well below historical levels, or others, such as the puffin, are now considered under threat of global extinction.

Each species was assessed against a set of objective criteria and placed on the Green, Amber or Red List - indicating an increasing level of conservation concern.

But, according to RSPB senior conservation officer for Yorkshire, Tim Melling, it isn't all doom and gloom.

Three species, bittern, nightjar and dunlin have been moved from the Red List to Amber, and 22 other species have moved from Amber to Green, most notably red kite and woodlark.

"Red Kite used to be one of the rarest birds in Britain, and is still rare globally, but since managing and re-establishing it in West Yorkshire and other places the numbers have picked up and it has now moved off the danger list," explains Tim.

Social and climate change, and chemicals, are among the key reasons for the decline. Although we may be limited in what we can do individually to help, there are ways we can protect our feathered friends.

Nesting boxes are ideal for threatened species such as sparrows and starlings. Tim explains many nesting places were lost during mill demolitions, particularly in Bradford and says they are now working with house builders to incorporate 'swift bricks' which acts similarly to a bird's nest box.

The way we manage our gardens can also help to protect bird populations. Creating patios, using pellets and pesticides is eradicting their food supply of insects.

"And be mindful of energy use. Think every time you are turning that light on you are contributing to the decline in puffins. Don't be wasteful with energy because climate change is probably the biggest threat facing birds at the moment and we are just seeing the beginnings of it," adds Tim.

A spokesman for Airedale and Bradford RSPB says: "Obviously it is of huge concern that over a quarter of British birds are now in danger and have been placed on the Red list.

"Ironically, a grey wagtail visited our back patio a couple of days ago, our first ever sighting in our garden which was thrilling and all the more amazing because it is one of the five species of upland birds new to the red list.

That's why it is so important for people to join the RSPB to learn and help to conserve our most important wildlife."

BEES, Bradford Environmental Education Service, is providing people with the opportunity to get closer to nature through conservation volunteering and managing urban green spaces including habitats supporting some of the bird species on the Red and Amber lists.

"Woodlands in Bradford are home to Bullfinches, Tawny Owls and summer visitors such as the Willow Warbler. We hope that our involvement in the management of Baildon Moor plays a small part in creating suitable habitat for Curlew, Short-eared Owls and Yellow Hammer," says Julia Pearson, enviromental programmes manager.

For more information visit rspb.org.uk or to find out more about BEES visit bees-ymca.org.uk.