Region is urged to watch the birdies

Jan 24 2009 by Tony Henderson, The Journal

THIS weekend is your chance to contribute to a major study of birdlife. Environment Editor Tony Henderson reports.

THE North East was set a challenge yesterday as part of 30th anniversary celebrations of the world’s biggest wildlife survey.

Last year, 7,000 people in the region took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, with another 3,720 participants in Cumbria.

The 30th Birdwatch takes places today and tomorrow, with people being asked to spend an hour recording which birds land in their gardens or local open spaces.

Nationally in 2008, almost 400,000 people logged six million birds across 228,000 gardens.

Now the aim is to make the 30th the biggest Birdwatch yet.

Matthew Capper, of the RSPB’s Northern region, said: “Last year more than 10,000 people took part in the North East and Cumbria.

“It would be fantastic if we could really beat this number of participants for the 30th birthday year.”

For many people who enjoy watching and feeding birds in their gardens, the weekend offers an opportunity to take a further step and contribute valuable information which is used to plot the fortunes of bird species.

Over the past 30 years, Big Garden Birdwatch has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world.

It was first to alert the RSPB to massive declines in song thrush numbers.

The song thrush was a firm fixture in the top 10 in 1979 but in 2008, its numbers were less than half those recorded in 1979, plummeting to 22nd in the rankings.

The Birdwatch has also tracked the decline in house sparrows, down from 10 birds per garden in 1979 to 3.6, and also the starling, which has plunged from 15 per garden to 3.44. Matthew Capper said: “In 2008’s Big Garden Birdwatch in the North East, we also noted a large decline in the numbers of blue tits recorded in gardens.

“We think that the decline was caused by very wet weather in the previous year. Heavy rain can wash caterpillars off leaves, causing food shortage for blue tits.

“We are interested to see if blue tit numbers have recovered in 2009 or if their decline continues.

“We are also keen to monitor the progress of house sparrows. They are always in the top two birds recorded in the North East and Cumbria but their numbers have been decreasing nationally since 1979. We need to see if this trend is continuing.”

The survey has also shown increases in collared dove and wood pigeon numbers.

Dr Mark Avery, the RSPB’s director of conservation, added: “As well as contributing to our understanding of the changes in bird numbers, Big Garden Birdwatch does a fantastic job of inspiring adults and children about nature.

“It allows hundreds of thousands of people each year to enjoy wildlife in their own gardens and that’s priceless.”

More recently, through the Birdwatch, the RSPB has seen the effects of climate change.

Dr Avery said: “There’s no denying that the timing of our seasons is changing. Despite the recent cold spell, UK winters are significantly warmer than they were 30 years ago.

“Through Big Garden Birdwatch we can all see the effect this is having on the birds in our gardens, even if we’re unable to see the wider effects with our own eyes.

“In the last five years, birds such as blackcaps have been seen more often. Milder winter temperatures in the UK mean these birds aren’t bothering to fly south.

“It would have been virtually unheard of to see these in UK gardens 30 years ago.”

Mathew said: “Just record the highest number of each species seen at any one time and send us your results. That’s it.”

To take part, fill in the form on this page or submit results online at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Page 2: Making plots more friendly for wildlife