Change in pecking order
Sparrows take flight as finches and pigeons dominate gardens
IT’S a simple pleasure enjoyed by families up and down the country – feeding the birds in our gardens.
But traditional favourites the sparrow, song thrush and starling are fast being replaced by woodpigeons, goldfinches and magpies because of the different food we are leaving out.
Experts say these birds were rarely sighted 40 years ago – along with woodpeckers, jays and crows – but they are all now daily visitors.
It is believed to be the result of Britons spending up to £300million a year on specialist birdfeed products – rather than merely leaving out leftover pieces of bread.
A British Trust for Ornithology study shows that feeding the birds ‘has significantly altered’ garden bird communities over the last four decades. The population of some species has soared and an increasing variety of birds are attracted by garden feeders. The study found that the amount of food now provided by families could potentially sustain up to 196million birds.
The research team examined bird food to see how the number and variety of products has increased since the early 1970s. They now include a wide range of peanuts, seeds, suet balls, mealworms and coconut shells.
The BTO also said dedicated volunteers had collected the most comprehensive long-term figures on bird feeding in the world. In the 1970s garden bird feeders were dominated by the house sparrow and starling.
But today a much broader range of species is commonly seen taking advantage of the growing variety of foods on offer. Dr Kate Plummer, of the BTO, said fewer than one in five people reported a goldfinch or woodpigeon on their feeders in 1973, but that number has soared to more than 80 per cent now.
Dr Plummer said: ‘We now know that garden bird feeding is one of many important environmental factors affecting British bird numbers. It is fascinating to discover how this seemingly small-scale hobby is in fact restructuring bird communities.’