Ah, tweet! Garden birds are soaring
GARDEN favourites such as goldfinches and greenfinches are soaring, the RSPB said yesterday. Even though Britain has seen two cold snaps, better than average temperatures have allowed more birds to find food. More than 420,000 people took part in the conservation charity’s Big Garden Birdwatch during the last weekend of January, recording 6.7 million birds. Goldfinch sightings were up 11 per cent on the previous year, long-tailed tits 16 per cent, coal tits 15 per cent and blue tits five per cent.
Sightings of greenfinches, which suffered a 58 per cent decline since the survey began in 1979, were up this year, rising by five per cent.
The milder weather in the run-up to the survey made it easier for the birds to find food and helped more survive the winter, the RSPB said.
RSPB conservation scientist Dr Daniel Hayhow said: “Last summer was a really good year for many breeding birds, with warm weather creating great conditions to raise their young to adulthood.”
But the news was not so good for blackbirds – 18 per cent fewer were spotted – and the number of robins was down 12 per cent. Wren sightings also decreased by 11 per cent, according to the survey. Warmer winters can mean birds are less reliant on garden feeders as there is more food around, resulting in potentially fewer birds visiting gardens.
The house sparrow was the most commonly seen bird in the survey, with starlings in second place, though both birds have seen long-term declines in numbers spotted per garden since the survey began.