House sparrow still most common bird
The results of the Big Garden Birdwatch have been unveiled for West Sussex and it is the tiny house sparrow that topped the chart for the most birds spotted.
The Big Garden Birdwatch is organised by the RSPB every year over the last weekend of January and this year more than 7,500 people took part, helping to spot and record birds visiting their garden.
The house sparrow accounted for 63.1 per cent of garden species recorded in the survey. Second most common was the starling with the colourful blue tit coming in third place.
The West Sussex top results mirror the UK results and the top three birds are exactly as those recorded in last year’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
Bottom of the list at number 20, as the least observed bird, was the great spotted woodpecker, while wrens and greenfinches were also rare sightings in our county.
The rarest bird to be spotted nationally was the song thrush, which has seen a 55 per cent decline since 2010. No song thrushes at all were recorded for the whole of Sussex.
Becca Smith, of the RSPB, said: “The latest results from the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch have revealed smaller birds such as longtailed tits, wrens and coal tits were seen in greater numbers than in 2019, thanks to the milder winter.
Now in its 41st year, the Big Garden Birdwatch was a chance for people of all ages to count the number of birds that visit their garden helping the RSPB build up a picture of how they are doing.
“This year, almost half a million people across the country including over 7,500 in West Sussex took part counting nearly eight million birds.
The event revealed the house sparrow was in the number one spot in West Sussex, whilst there was an increase in garden sightings of long-tailed tits, wrens, and coal tits, three of the smallest species to visit our gardens. The milder weather we experienced at the start of the year appears to have helped populations of these species as small birds are more susceptible to spells of cold weather.
“Over its four decades, Big Garden Birdwatch has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world. It was first to alert the RSPB to the decline in song thrush numbers. 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 20th in the rankings this year, seen in just nine per cent of gardens.
Daniel Hayhow, RSPB conservation scientist, said: “Small birds suffer during long, cold winters but the warmer January weather this year appears to have given species such as the wren and long-tailed tit a boost.
“Over the survey’s lifetime, we’ve seen the increasing good fortunes of birds such as the coal tit and goldfinch and the alarming declines of the house sparrow and starling.
“But there appears to be good news for one of these birds. While the overall decline in house sparrow numbers, reported by participants, since the Big Garden Birdwatch began is 53 per cent (1979–2020), in the most recent decade (2010-2020) numbers appear to have increased by ten per cent, giving us hope that at least a partial recovery may be happening.”
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 close to 70,000 school children and their teachers, including over 860 in West Sussex, spend an hour in nature counting the birds. Blackbird was the most numerous species seen in school grounds, with an average of five per school, and was seen in 85 per cent of the schools that took part.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “We know that for many people, garden birds provide an important connection to the wider world and bring enormous joy. These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us, but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it.
“Despite everything that’s going on in the world, nature is still doing its thing. Birds are singing and blossom is bursting. Watching wildlife, whether from a window or a balcony or even online, can offer many of us hope, joy and a welcome distraction, and so we are keen to help you carry on connecting with the natural world.
“Over the coming days and weeks, we will be helping people to share their wildlife encounters and provide ideas for things you can do for wildlife close to home. Follow RSPB England on Twitter and Facebook.”
For a full round-up of all the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results and to see which birds were visiting gardens where you live, visit www.rspb.org. uk/birdwatch