Flocks of birds on feeders this winter mask serious declines

The RSPB is warning that although birds will start visiting your tables and feeders in flocks for winter food any time soon, it masks a serious decline in numbers of many common species.


And if we experience a 'big freeze' like last winter, garden birds will need your help more than ever before.

'Feed the Birds Day' is coming up on 30-31 October, which marks the time when birds will increasingly be coming to gardens for supplementary food in the coming weeks.

Natural food sources will start to dwindle in the cold weather as birds and other wildlife start to snap it up and plants become covered with snow, berry crops come to an end and lakes, rivers and ponds become frozen over.

But although adults and young from the breeding season often join together to feed in gardens, giving the impression that they are thriving, the reality is that there are much fewer than there should be.

Richard Bashford, RSPB Feed the Birds Day Manager, says: 'It's easy to think that there are plenty of garden birds at this time of year as they desperately need our help and visit us in flocks.

'House sparrows are the classic example - if you get one house sparrow in your garden, you'll probably get a group. One recent winter, I counted over 100 in my garden, but I'm one of the lucky ones.

'They have disappeared from some parts of the UK, and nationally, house sparrow numbers have dropped by over 60 per cent in recent years so they are not as abundant as they may seem.'


Starlings also arrive en masse, but their population has plummeted by almost 75 per cent in the last 30 years.

And numbers of some species we see, like starlings, blackbirds and robins are higher in winter as they are joined by continental birds visiting the UK from colder climes for winter. Many are likely to have come from many hundreds of miles away in Scandinavian countries.

But although they look the same, the migrant birds can be quite easy to spot. They will take some time settling in after their incredibly long journeys and the change of scenery and human presence in gardens means they can stick out like a sore thumb with their behaviour.

They are less used to the garden environment and being close to humans so they are less comfortable and may appear 'shifty.' Many of the visiting birds spend their summers in places that are a lot more sparsely populated than the UK and are less likely to come into regular contact with people.

They will also not be so used to visiting bird tables and feeders and will skulk closer to undergrowth whereas our native birds are perfectly at home foraging in gardens and hanging from feeders.

Richard Bashford says: 'Some blackbirds, which we will likely assume are the same ones we see all year, could have come from places like Scandinavia and central Russia.

'Hopefully, if people realise just how far some of their garden birds have come, they will be even more eager to provide them with food and water which is so vital over winter.'

What's that bird?
The RSPB is also waiting to hear of some of the more unusual garden birds that visit feeders and tables over the winter. After last year's cold weather the charity received hundreds of reports of unusual sightings, and this year could be the same if forecasts are to be believed.

Finches like lesser redpolls, bramblings and siskins were regularly spotted throughout the colder weather.

Reed buntings, yellowhammers, grey wagtails, redwings and fieldfares were just some of the other species also seen in gardens as well as the countryside at unusual times.

Gemma Rogers

Media Officer

http://www.rspb.org.uk/media/releases/263038-flocks-of-birds-on-feeders-this-winter-mask-serious-declines