Garden and Green

RSPB Garden Bird Survey Results

You might remember we took part in the RSPB garden survey earlier in the year, (you can read about our own results here)  As you might recall we only spotted one lonesome Robin in the whole hour but duely submitted the result hoping gardens would fair better elsewhere.

The bad news is that overall across the country there was a 20% slump in bird numbers compared to the last study 4 years ago. There was some successes, for example an increase in Goldfinches, which now make the top 10 list for most frequently seen garden bird.

Top 10 birds seen in British gardens

Species Average per garden 2008 Average per garden 1979 % change

1. House sparrow 3.60 10.00 -64

2. Starling 3.44 15.00 -77

3. Blackbird 2.45 4.00 -39

4. Blue tit 2.29 2.44 -6

5. Chaffinch 2.15 3.00 -28

6. Woodpigeon 1.53 0.20 665

7. Collared dove 1.43 0.28 411

8. Robin 1.26 2.00 -37

9. Great tit 1.25 0.90 39

10. Goldfinch 1.16

It makes quite depressing reading the chart above, Starlings down a huge 77% and Blackbirds down -39% in just under three decades. However, some birds have exploded in numbers and for some reason it seems to be larger species. Wood pigeons have gone up 665%!! Also, not in this list is Magpies which in the eighties were quite a rare sight can be seen in suburban areas across the country.

There are all sorts of factors that can have an impact on bird numbers; the weather, intensification of farmland, change in gardening habits, loss of hedgerows etc but one thing is certain the health of bird numbers is a barometer for the rest of our eco-system and something odd seems to be happening.