Garden Birds and wild birds thread.

[shemnel]

house sparrows are doing well, but a real dearth of others this summer.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Bit weird this year here in rural shropshire, no shortage of Birds nesting, Blackbirds, Thrush, Sparrows, wrens etc even saw a beautiful little goldcrest, but very few insects, quite a few European Hornets which we dont usually get but hardly any flies, wasps, bees, ladybirds, greenfly or butterflies?
Just hope its an odd year and not a sign of things to come?

No.its not an odd year. I raised the issue in my " Where have all the Insects gone ? " thread a few years ago in off topic. Have a look if you get time ,you may find it thought provoking.
Birds such as The Cuckoo have basically all but stopped their long haul migration flights from Africa to Britain...why would they do this if there are no insects to feed on ?
The Cuckoo used to be The sound of the English summer. It's habitat and those of its hosts the reed warbler meadow Pipit and The Dunnock are disappearing fast ...

 

[dennishasdoneit]

house sparrows are doing well, but a real dearth of others this summer.

House sparrows have bounce back in many areas..still a serious decline in others.
Once the most common bird on the British Isles.....

 

[laserblue]

house sparrows are doing well, but a real dearth of others this summer.

We normally have loads of chaffinches all year round but have only seen a couple this summer.

 

[laserblue]

House sparrows have bounce back in many areas..still a serious decline in others.
Once the most common bird on the British Isles.....

They still are but we went through a period about 7 or 8 years ago when there were very few around. They really have bounced back now and we get loads.

Big Garden Birdwatch: The results have landed

What did we learn in the world's largest garden wildlife survey 2024?

www.rspb.org.uk

The birdwatch takes place on the last weekend of January so you won't get any summer visitors on it. We get all the birds in the top 10.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

We normally have loads of chaffinches all year round but have only seen a couple this summer.

Chaffinches used to be a daily sighting ,in gardens, over the year.
I've not seen to many of them in the last 18 months.

 

[Tuearts right boot]

Thinking about it....I've seen a lot of dead chicks on the roads and pavements. Dont seem to have been eaten or attacked, just whole, dead and flat.

 

[Saddleworth2]

in south east Scotland I am pleased to report there are as many birds as ever and loads of insects too.
List from this last year months on our feeders:

Blackbirds
Thrush
Greenfinch
Bullfinch
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Dunnock
Sparrow
Wren
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Long tailed tit
Jackdaw
Rook
Jay
Magpie (sneaky bastards)
Sparrow Hawk
Black Cap
Nuthatch
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Feral Pigeon
Startling (pretty rare)

Wax wing
Mistle Thrush
Redstart

They are a constant source of pleasure.

 

[dennishasdoneit]

Thinking about it....I've seen a lot of dead chicks on the roads and pavements. Dont seem to have been eaten or attacked, just whole, dead and flat.

Thats not good.at all.
Any body else noticed this ?

 

[Tuearts right boot]

Loads of Kites and Buzzards feeding mainly on road killed pheasants. The hatcheries let them out for the shooters at certain times of the year, the Pheasants are absolutely clueless on the roads and the rest is history. A danger to drivers as these graceful birds hunt in packs and to see half a dozen Red Kites suddenly rise up in front of you is pretty startling.