Big win for small birds as feeders help finch and tit species to thrive

The mild winter was followed by a good breeding season, boosting garden sightings of finches and tits

Damian CarringtonEnvironment editor

Wed 28 Mar 2018 06.01 BSTLast modified on Wed 28 Mar 2018 08.07 BST

Finches and tits have enjoyed a golden year, according to the results of this year’s RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

These small bird species suffer particularly badly in cold weather but in the past year benefited from a mild start to the winter that followed a good breeding season. Blackbird sightings in gardens were down – the result of plentiful food elsewhere – but a dearth of robins followed a poor nesting season.

The 39th annual Big Garden Birdwatch took place over the last weekend in January and more than 420,000 people took part, reporting a total of nearly 7 million birds. The event took place before the freezing weather dubbed the “Beast from East” arrived and the storm’s impact will not be known until later in the year after breeding number surveys are completed.

However, the extreme cold is likely to have caused deaths in some populations, at least locally. The icy weather did bring some birds into the UK, with redwings and fieldfares arriving in large numbers, seeking to escape the even harsher weather to the east.

Continued  

Can bird feeders do more harm than good?

Date: December 7, 2016

Source: Central Ornithology Publication Office

Many bird lovers put out feeders full of seed for their feathered friends -- but those feeders may also attract predators that eat eggs and nestlings. The researchers behind a new study in The Condor: Ornithological Applications tried to untangle these relationships through a four-year study of songbird nests, bird feeders, and predators in urban Central Ohio.

Feeders may attract more predators to an area, but the food can also satiate predators so that they're less likely to target nests. To learn more, Jennifer Malpass of The Ohio State University and her colleagues tracked the relationships between the success of American Robin and Northern Cardinal nests, the presence of potential nest predators like squirrels, domestic cats, and other birds, and the presence of bird feeders in the area. Relationships among feeders, predators and nest survival were complex -- areas with lots of feeders had more cowbirds and crows, birds that are known to prey on songbird nests, but that didn't generally affect the success of the nests the researchers monitored.


Read more

Bird feeders visited more often in suburban gardens than terraced streets

Date: November 23, 2016

Source: University of Exeter

Birds prefer to fly between the gardens of leafy suburban neighbourhoods to visit bird feeders than city terraces or new-build estates, a ground-breaking study tracking the behaviour of hundreds of garden birds has found.

A year-long study into the behaviour of over 450 blue tits and great tits found that a suburban neighbourhood with trees, shrubs and hedges between properties attract far more birds to their feeders than a Victorian urban terrace or manicured, modern housing estate.

The research led by Dr Daniel Cox, an ecologist from the University of Exeter, found that garden birds moved more frequently between gardens that have trees and shrubs, giving them a safe route to hop and fly from garden to garden and bird feeder to bird feeder.

But they were less likely to move between homes with paved gardens, or housing estates with manicured lawns but fewer trees or shrubs. Having roads between gardens also hindered movement, the research the Movement of feeder-using songbirds: the influence of urban features, published in the Journal Scientific reports, found.

The academics attached tiny tags with a unique electronic number onto the legs of 452 blue tits and great tits, two species which typically visit garden bird feeders. They then attached scanners to 51 bird feeders, filled with bird seed, in the gardens of urban terraced homes, a green suburban neighbourhood and a new-build estate.

The academics found individual birds in green neighbourhoods flew between twice as many gardens as birds in terraced streets. They also tended to visit bird feeders in a 'green' neighbourhood more often. Birds tended not to fly into rows of gardens in terraced streets that had little vegetation and were paved.

 

Continued  

Birds that eat at feeders are more likely to get sick, spread disease

Date: September 16, 2015

Source: Virginia Tech

Summary: The authors monitored the social and foraging behaviors of wild flocks of house finches, a common backyard songbird, and the spread of a naturally-occurring bird disease called Mycoplasmal conjunctivitis, which is similar to "pink eye" in humans but cannot be contracted by humans.

Continued ...

DNR asks public to clean bird feeders

We know it’s important to clean out the refrigerator once in a while, but don’t forget the bird feeder too.

State wildlife officials have confirmed reports of the death or sickness of small numbers of three bird species linked to salmonella poisonings in southern Wisconsin.

That’s prompted the Department of Natural Resources to ask the public to clean backyard bird feeders and keep an eye out for dead birds, since salmonella not only kills birds, but affects humans as well.

The warmer temperatures are producing ideal conditions for bacteria in bird feeders, the DNR says. Salmonella from the feces of birds is known to lurk in dirty bird feeders.

The DNR said that the deaths of a small number of pine siskins in Dane County have been tied to salmonella. Sick goldfinches and sparrows have been reported in Dodge and Crawford counties, as well.

The birds might be more vulnerable due to stress from their migration.

The National Wildlife Health Center said that salmonella bacteria live in the intestines of birds and are passed through feces. The salmonella strain found in birds can also be passed to humans.

Here’s some recommendations from the DNR:

- Clean bird feeders and bird baths regularly with a 10% bleach solution.
- Throw away empty seed hulls near feeders.
- Consider moving feeders occasionally to avoid a buildup of waste in one area.
- Replace water in a bird bath every two or three days
- Wear disposable gloves when cleaning a birdbath and bird feeder. 

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/186463361.html

Birds quickly find new feeders; there is proof

“When can I expect birds show up at my new feeder?”

That’s the most common question I get from readers who begin feeding birds for the first time. My answer is that it depends on several factors, including habitat and time of year, but usually, birds discover and use new feeders in just a few days. Let me illustrate this with two specific examples.

Back in August, I donated a half dozen gently used feeders to Grand Vue Park just outside Moundsville, W.Va. After recently adding a zip line course to complement the park’s existing outdoor activities, management agreed that a bird feeding station would be a welcome addition to the park. I dropped off the feeders on a sultry August morning, and the station was up two days later.

No birds

The feeders are located just a short distance from the main office, under tall trees and not far from the edge of the woods. I stopped by two days after the station was operational. It was hot and raining, and I saw not a single bird.

Continued:  http://www.farmanddairy.com/columns/birds-quickly-find-new-feeders-there-is-proof/43183.html