Issue 059 - Reflect Magazine

02 The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch
03
All Eyes On The Skies
The RSPB’S Big Garden Birdwatch (28th – 29th January 2012)
Female house sparrow
The nation will be poised to
watch their garden birds at the
end of January, for the RSPB’s
annual Big Garden Birdwatch
(28th – 29th January). The RSPB
is appealing for more sets of
eyes than ever before, from
all around the UK, to step up
for nature and help form a
complete picture of the fortunes
of garden favourites in the
recent topsy turvey weather.
Images courtesy of Nigel Blake,
Andy Hay, Ray Kennedy, Chris Gomersall,
John Bridges, Jodie Randall
Male blackbird
Female blackbird
Great Tit
Sarah Houghton, RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch Project
Manager, says: “Taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch not
only helps the RSPB track the ups and down of garden
birds, but it gives participants the perfect excuse to sit
down with a cup of tea and enjoy the wildlife that they
share their outside space with. You’ll be a part of the
biggest garden bird event in the world and you won’t even
have to leave the warmth of your armchair!”
Recent harsh winters have seen some garden bird
populations drop, only to make a comeback after a
good breeding season the following year. Last year,
some of the UK’s smallest garden birds bounced back,
and the wildlife charity wants to know whether they
have managed to maintain their numbers.
Big Garden Birdwatch is one of the first indicators to
show how well UK birds have fared during the previous
breeding season and winter. With over half a million
people taking part each year and over 30 years worth
of data, the results give an early indication of garden
bird trends. But if even more people step up and take
part, the scale of the ups and downs of Britain’s garden
birds will become even clearer.
“The RSPB keeps a watchful eye out for new and
emerging trends from Big Garden Birdwatch results,
which helped confirm that there was an alarming
decline in birds like the house sparrow, starling and
song thrush,” Sarah Houghton said. “It’s important that
we keep a close eye on how our birds are faring, like
the house sparrow for example. With so many people
stepping up and taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch,
if a pattern emerges, we take it seriously. Half a million
people can’t be wrong and that’s why the survey is so
important. There’s nothing else like it on this scale, and as
well as getting hundreds of thousands of people enjoying
wildlife, it actually helps protect nature by showing the
RSPB where we need to focus our efforts.”
Last year’s Big Garden Birdwatch results showed
that some of the smaller birds, which decreased in
numbers the previous year, bounced back. Sightings
of goldcrests, the UK’s smallest birds, doubled, long
tailed tits increased by a third and coal tits increased
by a quarter; and thousands of people were also lucky
Blue Tit
enough to see waxwings with an influx of the striking
birds to the UK from Scandinavia known as a ‘waxwing
winter.’
Almost 90,000 school children and teachers stepped
up and took part in the schools version of the survey
last year, ‘Big Schools’ Birdwatch.’ The UK-wide survey of
wildlife in schools, which celebrated its 10th birthday
this year, introduces thousands of children to the
wildlife visiting their school environment.
Nearly 3,000 classes from more than 2,000 schools were
involved, which was also a record-breaking number for
the survey. 87% of schools taking part reported seeing
blackbirds, with an average of five being seen at each
school, making it the most common visitor to school
grounds.
The Big Garden Birdwatch initially began as a one-off
in the late 1970s, when junior members of the charity
were asked to count the number of birds appearing
in their gardens over the last weekend in January.
However, the idea was so popular and so successful
that it’s become a staple event in the RSPB calendar.
According to the charity, more than three million hours
have been spent observing and enjoying the wide
variety of birds visiting our gardens and their behaviour
over this time, and more than six million birds are
spotted by volunteers like you every single year.
If you want to encourage Britain’s birds into your
garden this winter, you’ll need to give them a reason
to visit and what better reason to visit than for food.
Over half of British adults already feed the birds that
visit their garden, but to ensure these wild birds make
it through harsh winters, more of us need to leave
food out for them. A great food source to leave out for
birds is mixed bird seed, which can be bought readymixed
from pet stores, DIY stores and even Wilkinsons;
(Several of these stock reputable brands including
RSPB and the BTO). The best mixtures contain plenty
of flaked maize, sunflower seeds, and peanut granules,
but please note that mixes that contain chunks or
whole nuts are suitable for winter feeding only. It’s also
best to avoid mixtures that have split peas, beans, dried
rice or lentils, as well as mixtures containing green or
pink lumps, as only the large species can eat these dry.
Black sunflower seeds are an excellent year-round
food, and in many areas are even more popular than
peanuts. The oil content is higher in black than striped
ones, and so they are much better. Unsalted peanuts
are however, popular with tits, greenfinches, house
sparrows, nuthatches, great spotted woodpeckers
and siskins, and are rich in fat. Crushed or grated nuts
attract robins, dunnocks and even wrens, but beware
peanuts can be high in a natural toxin, which can kill
birds, so buy from a reputable dealer.
Fat balls and other fat-based food bars are excellent
winter food. If they are sold in nylon mesh bags, always
remove the bag before putting the fat ball out – the
soft mesh can trap and injure birds. Mealworms are a
natural food and can be used to feed birds throughout
the year; they’re relished by robins and blue tits, and
may attract other insect-eating birds such as pied
wagtails.
Finally, you can always feed garden birds kitchen
leftovers including mild grated cheese, dried fruit, rice,
uncooked porridge oats, pastry and Christmas cake (if
there is any left.)
Do not put mouldy food out for your garden birds.
Many moulds are harmless, but some can cause
respiratory infections in birds, and so it is best to be
cautious and avoid mouldy food entirely. If food turns
10 Great Garden Bird Facts
•Starlings are outstanding mimics, and incorporate accurate copies of sounds of other birds,
frogs and mammals, and even of mechanical sounds into their song – once it was trim phones,
now it’s car alarms!
• Robins and wrens share a reputation for nesting in strange places – sheds, greenhouses,
hanging baskets – even a pocket in washing left on the line.
•The goldcrest has to eat its own weight in food each day to survive the cold, winter nights!
• Swifts sleep on the wing. Shortly before dusk, birds gather and ascend high up in the air to
roost in a warmer air layer some 1,000 - 2,000m above ground.
• Robins first appeared on Christmas cards as a representation of Victorian postmen, who
wore red tunics and were known as ‘redbreasts’. They are also associated with Christmas because
they hold their territories by singing in the winter.
• Starlings - You can tell the sexes apart by the colour of the base of the bill - blue for boys, pink
for girls!
• Swallows are considered to be a sign of good luck. Traditionally a farmer never destroyed a
swallow nest in fear of the adverse events that might befall him.
• A blue tit weighs the same as a pound coin.
mouldy or stale on your birdtable, you are probably
placing out too large a quantity for the birds to eat
in one day. Always remove any stale or mouldy food
promptly. Stale food provides a breeding ground for
salmonella bacteria, which can cause food poisoning.
At least one type of salmonella causes death among
such species as greenfinches and house sparrows.
Providing supplementary food in your garden during
the winter months, and especially during particularly
cold snaps will bring some amazing birds into your
garden and you’ll be surprised how fascinating you
find their behaviour and colours – they’ll brighten up
any snow-covered garden.
To step up for nature and take part, simply spend one
hour over the weekend of 28th – 29th January,
counting the birds in your garden or local park, and
record the highest number of each bird species seen at
any one time.
Visit the RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
for more information and to submit your results online.
Pre-registration is now open and those pre-registering
will get a 10% discount voucher for bird food and
feeders from RSPB shops.
To request a Big Garden Birdwatch pack over the
phone, please call 0300 456 8330
• Blackbirds love to sunbathe – they can often be seen on the ground with their wings spread.
• Despite being the most recorded garden bird of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2011,
the house sparrow remains a red-listed species and is of conservation concern.
Robin
Song Thrush
Gold Finch
Starling