Where have all our garden birds gone?

[Prodigy]

We get some nice birds in bedford. saw more wood pigeons (10+) than the city one (1)

Seen Robin ,

 

crows only appear on school fields with seagulls.

 

 

thats about it other than the starling/wren

[DDolfelin]

Well, things are looking up - we had one blue tit on the nuts briefly.

Bigger birds in the distance (Buzzards, Carrion Crows etc.,) and we have a raucous Rook colony nearby.

Other villagers have commented on the absence of garden birds.

[trisonic]

Two vultures were circling over my garden yesterday......otherwise we have a family of Blue Jays and one of Cardinals ( and a lot of other stuff I don't recognise). I believe our population of House Sparrows outstrips London's.

 

It's amazing how many British birds made it over here on board ships - I'm guessing.

 

Best, Pete.

[PhilJ W]

Two vultures were circling over my garden yesterday......otherwise we have a family of Blue Jays and one of Cardinals ( and a lot of other stuff I don't recognise). I believe our population of House Sparrows outstrips London's.

 

It's amazing how many British birds made it over here on board ships - I'm guessing.

 

Best, Pete.

IIRC starlings were deliberately imported to the US. They have now become a pest however.

[Butler Henderson]

Frequent visits this week by coal tits (at least 3), a robin, a sparrow (I think), and blackbirds (mr & mrs). Suspect the relative mild Autumn has affected things. Also have a number of magpies which if anything seem to have scared off the wood pigeons rather than the smaller birds

[Prodigy]

Frequent visits this week by coal tits (at least 3), a robin, a sparrow (I think), and blackbirds (mr & mrs). Suspect the relative mild Autumn has affected things. Also have a number of magpies which if anything seem to have scared off the wood pigeons rather than the smaller birds

Not here in bedford. we get magpies (especially this year)

but our wood pigoen population seems to have gone juggernaut.

(i miss you Pidgy <3)

[Rivercider]

In Weston-super-Mare our only regulars that have been here permanently it seems are

the house sparrows, collared doves and bl**dy rock doves. or wood pigeons.

Across the road in the park crows magpies and pigeons fight it out with the seagulls.

 

In the last couple of weeks, goldfinches, blue/great and coal tits have started to reappear but no blackirds yet.

I had assumed we had the same birds all year, but I believe some of the above species migrate

so our summer guests may not be the same ones that are here in the winter.

 

In the park over the road there is a good crop of acorns, and I notice plenty of pyrocanthus berries

and hawthorn berries round and about, so may be they don't need our help yet.

 

cheers

[Poggy1165]

We get loads of birds, and we only live 5 miles out of Manchester. All kinds of tits, jays, starlings, collared doves, goldfinches in droves, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes - you name it.

 

My missus has deliberately designed the garden with wild life in mind. For example, we have lots of log piles, Insects breed in these and provide food for birds. There's lots of books about this kind of stuff, and the RSPB provide leaflets.

 

There is an excess of local cats, but there's little one can do about this. Squirrels were in glut a few years ago, but now we only see the odd one. Our local sparrowhawks often take out a feral pigeon or two, but they would not be there if the food chain below them wasn't there.

[Colin]

Colchester, Essex:

Blue, great, coal and the occasional group of long-tailed tits are to be seen on the feeders, also sparrows, wrens and a couple of robins but there's a worrying lack of bigger songbirds - we used to have a fair few blackbirds and thrushes as regular visitors to our little garden, but hardly ever see a blackbird now and never spot a thrush. I suppose it's something to do with all those bl00dy magpies - they seem to be everywhere.

[bike2steam]

 

The Owl population is on the increase - bloody things keeping us awake at night, so too is the hedge Sparrow back in large numbers.

Dunnocks are keeping you awake at night, Paul?

That is unusual.

 

OOpps, let me re-write that;- The Owl population is on the increase (bloody things keeping us awake at night), the Hedge Sparrow is also back in large numbers.

[DDolfelin]

I had visions of a host of little birds scrabbling at your bedroom window!

[10800]

I hadn't thought that sparrowhawks were a factor in our vicinity, not having seen any, but a couple of months ago Mrs10800 and I were sitting out on our new deck and one just came through the trees from next door, landed on one of the new deck posts barely 10ft away, looked us in the eye for a second and flew off. Magpies are very numerous and I suspect many eggs and hatchlings went that way, although there were successful families of tits, wrens and greenfinches in the garden in the summer.

[hmrspaul]

Sparrowhawks are one of the great recovery stories of the bird world http://www.bto.org/birdtrends2010/wcrsparr.shtml . Living close to central York they occasionally take birds in our backgarden, but last week I was very surprised to see one dismembering a sparrow in our small and deliberately overgrown front garden http://www.ispot.org.uk/node/235623 .

 

We feed birds both front and back, and get all of the usuals - especially large numbers of goldfinches (I suspect they had three broods this long summer). Missing from early autumn are the wood pigeons - we usually have lots of them, I expect they will be back in the winter. The blackbirds love the pyracantha berries.

 

Two other unusual visitors for an urban garden have been cock common pheasant http://www.ispot.org.uk/node/235881?nav=related and gulls in the very severe part of last winter.

 

Paul Bartlett

[DDolfelin]

Local Sparrowhawks do a sort of Dam Busting run down the stream bed and swoop up under the feeders.

We rescued two last year who had injured themselves somehow - I think I showed a pic. on ERs somewhere - I've still got the scars.

[mozzer models]

had these in the garden last tuesday there were 20 plus of them sat in the trees

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=su-Ep8Gvioo&feature=feedu

Edited November 14, 2011 by mozzer models

[PhilJ W]

I had a sparrowhawk using my patio as a dining table last year, the 'victim' was a pigeon that she had caught on the wing. The surprise was that both birds were about the same size. By the way does anyone produce models of such as the sparrowhawk in OO scale?

Edited November 14, 2011 by PhilJ W

[Rumblestripe]

I've just recently erected a Bird feeding artefact (recent offer from Aldi) and attention from the local avian populace has been sparse. I'm hoping that things pick up as the cold weather kicks in. I've got peanuts, various seeds, fatballs and those segmented wormy things (also a water thingy) and as my dog positively discourages the resident feline population from anything other than the most fleeting visit (squirrels are similarly "escorted" from the premises) I think we have a reasonably attractive facility for our feathered chums.

 

I'm a little worried about location but I have positioned it well away from trees and bushes as I think birds prefer not to have areas of concealment where cats can stalk? Or do they prefer to be able to flit from a convenient branch?

[Butler Henderson]

Give them time to find it. The positioning sounds okay - I have a feeder pole up the side of a conifer, gives the birds protection from cats on the fence and the smaller birds nip through the conifer as nice walking route to the takeaway.

[hmrspaul]

I've just recently erected a Bird feeding artefact (recent offer from Aldi) and attention from the local avian populace has been sparse. I'm hoping that things pick up as the cold weather kicks in. I've got peanuts, various seeds, fatballs and those segmented wormy things (also a water thingy) and as my dog positively discourages the resident feline population from anything other than the most fleeting visit (squirrels are similarly "escorted" from the premises) I think we have a reasonably attractive facility for our feathered chums.

 

I'm a little worried about location but I have positioned it well away from trees and bushes as I think birds prefer not to have areas of concealment where cats can stalk? Or do they prefer to be able to flit from a convenient branch?

May I suggest you add a niger seed feeder - the main users of this are goldfinches, and they are spectacular small birds. I don't take my own advice, but, if you can, have paving below the feeder as a lot does get dropped and will grow - paving will allow some clearing up.

 

The type of birds we commonly get in the garden like trees and shrubs - our front garden feeder is in a small garden, and I have planted a row of differing shrubs across the front - the branches are only a foot or so away. The birds like this cover - our double height feeder empties in less than 2 days. A scientific report concluded the more plant cover a garden has the more birds there will be - and they need such cover for their nests. And grow shrubs that will have berries - like cotoneaster and pyracantha - good hedging plant as well, vicious needles.

 

Cats, don't you just hate them!

 

Paul Bartlett

[Stormbringer]

You may find that moving your feeders closer to cover will increase the numbers of visitors.

 

A friend of mine who has a stream at the foot of his garden and used to get visited by a family of swans, up to 30 ducks , goldfinches, chaffinch, blue, great and long tailed tits, robins, sparrows, blackbirds etc plus a greater spotted woodpecker tells me that his garden has been deserted. Swans haven't been seen since 9th september, we suspect that both have popped their clogs, no ducks and very little else.

 

My parents who live near Dover tell me that they get up to 25 goldfinch, greenfinch, chaffinch, starling, wood pigeon, feral pigeon, blackbird,robin and the occasional thrush.

 

Pete

[DDolfelin]

Good advice, Pete, but our feeders are in optimum locations.

Very few small birds about at all.

Like your friend, our usual guest list is in the high 70s of different types.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

You may find that moving your feeders closer to cover will increase the numbers of visitors...

Definitely. Our current garden was largely an open expanse of grass when acquired 16 years ago, just one small tree from which we hung the bird feeders. Visitors were few. Now heavily shrubbed, hedged, bushed etc. birds are constantly in evidence, and we get a lot of nesting. Our most recent 'prize' were treecreepers, which this year built the most elegant pendulous basket work nest between two shed panels leaning against an outbuilding, and successfully raised a brood of 4.

 

Just wish we saw goldfinches regularly in our garden. There's a charm of them to be seen regularly not 200 yards away, but for some reason our garden is not on their beat.

 

One bird I haven't seen this year is the feral ring necked parakeet. Living in central Herts my assumption was that these were occasional wanderers from the flocks in the West London area. Did the cold of late 2010 significantly reduce their numbers?

[Peter Bedding]

Sorry no photos, but West Dorset kitchen window observation report:

 

Each year seems to be slightly different. Until last winter, greenfinches monopolised the garden feeding station, with other finches and tits in a minority. Last winter, the greenfinches all but vanished, and their place was taken by goldfinches and chaffinches.

 

This year the greenfinches have started a comeback, but the goldfinches remain; up to a dozen goldfinches on the feeding station at any one time, and as many more in the local circuit.

 

This morning's score included the usual goldfinches, some greenfinches and four bluetits. They all vanished of a sudden, and our occasional sparrowhawk took their place for a couple of minutes, very close to the window.

 

For feed we offer sunflower kernels, niger seed (is that the right spelling of niger?), and this year we have added some commercial fatballs. This last have not been popular, and the birds ignore peanuts. The seed, however, is hoovered down in significant quantities. Our local birdfood shop seems unaffected by the wider economy.

 

PB

[EddieB]

Well, it seems that one of the missing birds has turned up:

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-15742121

 

[EddieB]

By the way does anyone produce models of such as the sparrowhawk in OO scale?

 

It wouldn't be that difficult to rebrand one of the many A4 models as LNER 4463 (later 18) or BR 60018.

 

Noting that the name was "SPARROW HAWK" (two words).