WINTER’S WILDLIFE Bye byes to too many blackbirds
GRUB UP
A brazen blackbird’s hummingbird impersonations have created some hilarious garden entertainment for us of late.
The young male, still with shades of juvenile brown flecked in his jet plumage, has been perfecting the art of hovering to feast on a berry-rich pyracantha under the kitchen window.
Each sortie involves a flurry of wingflapping, a powerful leap then frantic grabs for a fiery yellow berry before crashing back to the ground with an ungainly plop.
The nutritional goodness of the firethorn fruit must make all those strenuous efforts well worthwhile.
And – to use the correct collective noun – a cloud of six blackbirds soon descended on the garden, either to pillage the pyracantha or forage on the sodden lawn.
So many of them together was a pleasing sight, especially as the RSPB had just sent through details of its forthcoming annual Big Garden Birdwatch with worrying news about these muchloved members of the thrush clan.
Since the first garden survey in 1979, winter blackbird sightings have halved – and such declines are also borne out by British Trust for Ornithology studies, which report an 18% decrease in breeding numbers over the past seven decades.
Delving into the statistics shows how blackbird populations have fluctuated since the 1960s, with increases in the early part of this century in areas of higher rainfall, particularly Wales, southern Scotland and north west England.
This contrasts sharply with the drop-off in London. A shift in the popularity of gardening in densely populated residential areas may be robbing blackbirds of the lawns and shrubby areas where they can feed on both berries and invertebrates.
Plastic grass, patio slabs and wooden decking make for poor wildlife habitats.
Meanwhile, our bird-friendly garden with its feeders and hedgerow shrubs is not only providing hours of blackbird shenanigans, but also receiving regular visits from redwings and fieldfares as well as dunnocks, robins, goldfinches, long-tailed tits and collared doves.
The 45th Big Garden Birdwatch takes place between January 26 - 28. To take part, register at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
Since first survey in 1979 winter blackbird sightings have halved