London’s garden birds disappearing?

Birdwatch News Archive

Posted on: 26 May 2016

Results from the Big Garden Birdwatch suggest a decrease in numbers of garden birds in London, and the RSPB has commissioned special nest boxes to highlight this decline.

London’s most common garden birds seem to be quietly vanishing from the city's green spaces, and research has revealed that Starlings (down 34 per cent), Blackbirds (19 per cent), Blue Tits (14 per cent) and House Sparrows (13 per cent) have disappeared from its gardens over the past 12 years. This data on declining species has been taken from the RSPB’s 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch, the largest citizen science survey in Britain, and was collated and analysed by the RSPB’s Centre for Conservation Science.

There does indeed seem to be a general trend of decline, though this may be exaggerated this year by the effects of a very mild winter, which has seen many species foraging away from gardens, and an increase in the numbers of Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits.

To highlight this decline and encourage Londoners to attract the missing birds back to the city, East Village – which has the recently created postcode E20 – has enlisted local Essex carpenter Pete Bagg to create a number of unique nest boxes in the form of iconic buildings of the London Skyline. These include historic buildings such as Buckingham Palace and Tower Bridge, along with to E20’s very own Arcelor Mittal Orbit and Lee Valley Velodrome. E20 has hosted breeding Black Redstarts in recent years. East Village is the former London 2012 Athletes’ Village and represents a green haven in the heart of one of the world’s largest cities.

Neil Young, CEO of Get Living London which rents and manages homes at East Village, said: “As one of London’s greenest neighbourhoods with a big emphasis on the natural environment, East Village has invested heavily to encourage wildlife. Whether it be through ‘living roofs’ on each apartment building, the 3,000 trees – newly planted in 2011 – or [providing] 25 acres of green open space, we have worked hard to make East Village eco-friendly. With the six-acre Wetlands – a brilliant habitat for native biodiversity – we are delighted to partner with the RSPB to create these unique bird boxes to help encourage even more birds into the neighbourhood.”

The quirky bird boxes will go on show outside Get Living London’s East Village ‘Welcome Office’ from 26th May and will eventually be placed around London’s newest neighbourhood in time for next year's breeding season. The scheme has been introduced this spring as a 'call to action' for the nation to play their part to encourage birdlife wherever they live in the UK.

Read more …

RSPB Scotland 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch results

The overall news of the outcomes of RSPB Scotland’s 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch is that the milder winter has boosted sightings of smaller garden birds.

Across Scotland over 36,000 people joined in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey during the last weekend in January 2016. Participants counted 626,335 feathered visitors during what was the 37th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

A rise in sightings of smaller gardens birds such as coal tits and great tits may be due to the milder weather in the months leading up to the Birdwatch.

Keith Morton, Species Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland, says: ‘2016 was another great year for Big Garden Birdwatch in Scotland. We’d like to say huge thank you to everyone who spent an hour of their weekend in January taking part; the data collected by you helps us build a better picture of how our garden birds are faring year to year.

‘Different birds are affected in different ways by the weather and this winter has seen milder temperatures and some very wet periods in parts of Scotland, although several areas did have a lot of snow fall over Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. The increase in smaller garden birds recorded, such as long-tailed tits, suggests that the lack of sustained cold weather helps these species survive in far greater numbers over the winter months. The food these birds rely on, such as insects, would have been easier to find, helping to boost the numbers of them spotted in Big Garden Birdwatch hour.’

The 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch results were:

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Winners and losers in RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch

By WMNMHesp  |  Posted: March 31, 2016

By Martin Hesp

The ornithological world is full of winners and losers as climactic and environmental conditions change - and sneaking up on the inside this year to claim a place in the Westcountry top-ten for the first time in more than half a decade is that busy hedgerow adventurer, the long tailed tit.

So declares the RSPB after half-a-million people joined in the world’s largest wildlife survey to watch and count more than eight million birds during the charity’s 37th Big Garden Birdwatch.

The tiny long-tailed tit has flown into the Big Garden Birdwatch top 10 for the first time in eight years after the average number seen visiting gardens across the UK increased this year by 44 per cent.

Read more: 

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch: 500,000 flock for world's biggest wildlife survey

The Society are predicting very unusual results for the 37th annual edition

Peter Yeung

Saturday 30 January 2016

The Big Garden Birdwatch, an annual birdwatching event to record species spotted across the UK, is expected to draw more than half a million participants this weekend.

Now in its 37th year, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) wildlife survey is the largest of its kind in the world. Last year, a reported 8.5 million birds were counted by 585,000 people.

The RSPB uses the finding from the survey, published in March, to create an annual “snapshot” of bird numbers across the UK.

Unusually mild weather, however, means that the annual RSPB event in 2016 may produce the most unpredictable results in its history.

Figures from the Met Office released earlier this month revealed that December was the warmest and wettest month ever recorded in Britain, with almost double the average rainfall and an average temperature 4.1 degrees centigrade higher.

The RSPB said it would be monitoring how this had affected birds such as the long tailed tit – which struggles in harsh winters – and if there were lower numbers of species from the continent, including finches and blackbirds. Sightings of species such as starlings and song thrushes have declined by 80 per cent and 70 per cent since the survey began in 1979.

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RSPB PRESS RELEASE: Stay in the Warm with the Big Garden Birdwatch

Stay in the warm with the Big Garden Birdwatch

RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch is set to bring families in Devon together as we uncover what is happening in the UK’s gardens in the world’s biggest wildlife survey

Families in Devon are being asked to spend just one hour watching the birds this weekend as Europe’s largest nature conservation charity takes its annual snapshot of the UK’s garden birds.

The RSPB wants to hear about the number and variety of birds visiting your Devon garden on Saturday and Sunday (30 and 31 January).

For almost forty years people have been taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, counting the birds in their garden to help the RSPB understand how our feathered friends are doing.

Last year over half a million people across the UK took part, making Big Garden Birdwatch the world’s biggest wildlife survey [note 2]. For the third year running, the RSPB is also asking about other wildlife seen in our gardens throughout the year, such as hedgehogs, foxes, stoats and squirrels, to help build an overall picture of how important gardens are for giving nature a home [note 3].
More than 8.5 million birds were spotted visiting our gardens with house sparrows topping the list, and some families reporting unusual species, such as skylarks, making an appearance outside their back doors.

Tom Waters in RSPB’s wildlife team said: “It really is as simple as spending an hour looking out of the window and enjoying seeing the wildlife that comes to you. You don’t need any special equipment, although if you take any photos we would love to see them. Then at the end of your hour send us your results to tell us what you saw.

“We have an online pack with everything you will need. There is even a handy guide to help you find out which bird is which, so you can tell a robin from a rook!”

If you would like to sign up, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. You can also follow the action throughout the weekend by following @natures_voice on Twitter or using the #BigGardenBirdwatch

Tom added: “Every year we are amazed by how many people take part. It’s a really fun activity everyone can do and join in with. We love hearing how families come together to take part, as children and grandchildren discover the exciting natural world in their own back gardens.

“If you want to encourage more birds into your garden then why not put some food out –our website has some great advice on what birds love to eat. We have ideas on what you can make as well as a range of bird food and feeders you can buy online safe in the knowledge 100% of the profits will go to helping birds and wildlife.

The RSPB will share the non-bird results people spot in their gardens with Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (ARC), People’s Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and The Mammal Society to add to their species databases. Results will help all the organisations involved build their understanding about the threats facing garden wildlife.

To find out more about how to Give Nature a Home in your garden visit www.rspb.org.uk/givenatureahome. And the RSPB shop is an excellent place to find bird food and other bits and pieces to encourage wildlife to visit http://shopping.rspb.org.uk/ and all profits go to helping birds and wildlife.

ENDS

For further information and to arrange an interview, please contact:

Morwenna Alldis, Communications Officer, RSPB South West. Tel: 01392 453767

Email: morwenna.alldis@rspb.org.uk

Follow @RSPBNews for the latest news

Photographs:

To download a selection of images relevant to this press release, please click on the hyperlink below and then enter the user name and password when prompted.

https://www.rspb-images.com/respages/storysetsignon.aspx?key=d8cc3683-a5e7-4462-8d2c-44c290b0b13b

User Name:  garden          

Password:  birdwatch        

Broadcast-quality radio interviews:

To arrange an ISDN broadcast-quality radio interview please contact Katie Prewett at the RSPB press office.

Editor’s notes:

1.    The RSPB is the UK’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home. Together with our partners, we protect threatened birds and wildlife so our towns, coast and countryside will teem with life once again. We play a leading role in BirdLife International, a worldwide partnership of nature conservation organisations.

2. 2015 Big Garden Birdwatch results: rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Rank	Species
1	House sparrow
2	Starling
3	Blackbird
4	Blue tit
5	Woodpigeon
6	Chaffinch
7	Robin
8	Great tit
9	Goldfinch
10	Collared dove
11	Magpie
12	Dunnock
13	Long tailed tit
14	Feral pigeon
15	Carrion crow
16	Jackdaw
17	Coal tit
18	Greenfinch
19	Wren
20	Common gull

3. In 2014, as a new part of the Big Garden Birdwatch, the RSPB asked participants to tell us about some of the other animals in their garden including badgers, squirrels and hedgehogs. Slow worms and grass snakes joined the list in 2015 with foxes and stoats added to this year’s list. Participants don’t have to see and count these other species during the hour of the Big Garden Birdwatch survey. They just fill in the form to tell the RSPB how frequently they saw them in their gardens over the past year.
4. Together, we can create even more homes for nature. To find out how you can give nature a home where you live visit: rspb.org.uk/homes

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
The Lodge, Sandy, Beds SG19 2DL

Press office telephone: 01767 681577

rspb.org.uk

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered charity.
In England and Wales, no: 207076.
In Scotland, no: SC037654.