The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Survey figures prompt concern for popular bird
ANGUS AND Dundee have bucked a trend that has seen a big drop in sightings of one of Scotland’s most recognisable birds.
More than 53,000 people took part in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch, which was organised by the RSPB over two days in January.
Participants were asked to spend an hour keeping an eye out for the number and species of birds in their gardens. One of the main findings was a 17% drop in the number of starlings compared to a decade ago.
Famed for their iridescent colouring, squabbling birdtable behaviour and breathtaking murmurations, starlings are usually thought of as one of the most regular visitors to gardens. The findings suggest they may be in some trouble.
The drop in sightings in Perth and Kinross was even steeper than the national average at 25%, while Fife was down by 11%. However, Angus was up by 6% and sightings of starlings in Dundee rose by 48% compared to 2002, although all types of bird tend to be seen less frequently in urban areas than rural ones.
The starling was still the third most commonly spotted species in the survey, but the RSPB is worried about the long-term trend.
Spokesman Keith Morton said: “The results are an important piece of the jigsaw when monitoring garden birds numbers and a vital tool in flagging up any underlying problems, such as the trend we are seeing with starling numbers.
“The fact this bird ranked third in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch shows that it is still a fairly common garden regular. However, looking back on the results over the years it is clear that where once you may have seen as many as 15 of these highly sociable birds at any one time, nowadays, in some areas, you may see as few as two or three.
“The causes are not well understood and because many starlings migrate from breeding grounds in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe to winter here, then declines may reflect environmental changes elsewhere in Europe.
“However, Uk-wide surveys are revealing declines in our own breeding starling populations, too, so it is clear further work is needed to understand these losses.”
The house sparrow was the bird most often spotted during the survey, with 70% of participants saying they had seen them in their garden. The chaffinch was second with the starling, blue tit and blackbird making up the rest of the top five.