Thousands join in the Big Birdwatch
The results of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch have been released – and the house sparrow still rules the roost in Sussex.
The world’s largest garden wildlife survey took place from January 28-30.
This year, more than 13,000 in Sussex took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, joining an incredible 700,000 people across the UK.
In all more than 11million birds were counted and recorded.
Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest wildlife survey and gives RSPB scientists insights into how our garden birds are faring.
Over its four decades, with the help of local people, Big Garden Birdwatch has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world, giving the RSPB an astonishing amount of insight into how our wildlife is faring.
While the house sparrow remains number one across the UK and in Sussex, this year’s survey saw a large rise in the number of jays recorded and a glimmer of hope for the redlisted greenfinch.
In the UK, jay moved up nine places to number 23, an increase of 73 per cent, compared to 2021 numbers.
Each autumn, jays, a colourful member of the crow family, can often be seen flying back and forth finding and hiding acorns to help see them through the winter.
These are then hidden in the cracks and crevices of trees, but also in leaf litter on the ground.
An individual jay can store around 8,000 acorns each year and many remain buried to grow into oak trees.
The RSPB’s chief executive Beccy Speight said: “We don’t know the reasons for the sudden increase in jay sightings this year.
“It may be down to food availability as we have reports that last year was poor for acorns, but whatever the reason a sighting of this stunning bird is enough to raise one’s spirits any day of the year let alone on a gloomy January weekend.
“It’s been brilliant to see so many people taking part again this year, taking time out to watch and reconnect with birds and then generously submit their sightings to help RSPB scientists gain some insights into how our garden birds are faring.”
Big Garden Birdwatch results also found a small increase in greenfinch compared to 2021. This gives scientists a glimmer of hope that this might be the first signs of a population recovery, but only time will tell.
In recent years the greenfinch has suffered a population crash (62 per cent since 1993) caused by a severe outbreak of the disease trichomonosis and as a consequence the species was added to the UK Red List last
year.
This infection is spread through contaminated food and drinking water, or by birds feeding one another with regurgitated food during the breeding season.
Garden owners can help slow transmission rates by temporarily stopping the provision of food if ill birds are seen and making sure that garden bird feeders are cleaned regularly.
The house sparrow remained at the top of the Big Garden Birdwatch rankings as the most commonly seen garden bird, with more than 1.7million recorded sightings throughout the weekend.
Blue tit and starling remained in the number two and three positions respectively.
It was the Big Garden Birdwatch that alerted the RSPB to the decline in song thrush numbers, which are still down 81 per cent compared to the first Big Garden Birdwatch in 1979. This species was a firm fixture in the top ten in 1979.
By 2009, its numbers were less than half those recorded in 1979, it came in at 20 in the rankings this year, seen in just eight per cent of gardens.
Throughout the first half of the spring term the nation’s school children took part in the RSPB’s Big Schools Birdwatch.
The UK-wide survey of birds in school grounds saw almost 60,000 school children and their teachers spend an hour in nature counting the birds.
Woodpigeon was the most numerous species seen with an average of eight per school; and was seen in 83 per cent of all schools that took part. Blackbird was a close second with an average of seven per school.
Beccy added: “Connecting with nature doesn’t have to stop with Big Garden Birdwatch. Spring sees the return of nature’s biggest music festival, the dawn chorus, with national and international stars coming together to perform their biggest hits right on your doorstep.
“Open your back door, a window or simply step outside and listen. Share your dawn chorus experience with us on social media using #DawnChorusDay.”
Dawn Chorus Day takes place on Sunday, May 1. The RSPB will also be hosting special Dawn Chorus events on its nature reserves. Find out more at www. rspb.org.uk/dawnchorus.
Beccy said: “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.
“During the pandemic, there was a broad and much-needed realisation that nature is an important and necessary part of our lives especially for our mental health and wellbeing. But nature needs us too.
“It is only by us understanding how our wildlife is faring that we can protect it.
“We know that nature is in crisis but together, we can take action to solve the problems facing nature.”
Over the last 50 years, nearly 40million birds have vanished from the UK’s skies.