Decline in sparrowhawk sightings due to wet July
SPARROWHAWK sightings in gardens were “well below” average this winter after a wet June hit the small birds they prey on, experts said.
Sparrowhawks are most frequently seen in gardens during the autumn and winter months, when there are more juveniles and they are following birds such as blue tits which flock into gardens to feed.
But while January 2016 saw the highest average counts of the birds of prey for that time of year, their numbers have been “abnormally low” since last summer, according to the British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) year-round Garden BirdWatch.
They were only seen in 8% of gardens monitored weekly for the scheme, well below average, and down from 13% of gardens in December 2015.
The BTO said it suspected the decline was down to the wet weather in June which resulted in a poor breeding season for many smaller birds which sparrowhawks feed on, such as blue tits and great tits.
With fewer young birds around there would have been less food for them to feed their chicks on, potentially leading to lower survival in young sparrowhawks, while the weather could also have directly affected them.
Claire Boothby, Garden BirdWatch development officer at the trust, said: “The surprise appearance of a sparrowhawk is always a dramatic garden event and one that has been witnessed by fewer people than usual this winter.
“Sparrowhawks rely on the availability of prey, in their case particularly birds, to survive.
“We know that numbers of great tits and blue tits are down in gardens this year, following a poor breeding season and this may have had an effect on the number of sparrowhawks seen in gardens.”
Sparrowhawks are the bird of prey most commonly seen in gardens, though they are not always popular visitors as they feed on other well-loved garden bird species.
Numbers of the birds of prey crashed in the 1950s and 60s because of pesticide poisoning, but have since recovered.
The trust said it was not yet clear whether the decline seen this winter would be a continuing trend, and urged people to join the BTO Garden BirdWatch survey to help monitor bird populations.