Richmond bird lovers have been waiting two months, but the Big Garden Birdwatch results are finally in.
Every year the RSPB attempts to show which birds are on the rise in the UK, and which are struggling. One of the best ways of doing this to ask people which birds they see in their garden on a particular date – this year January 27-29.
Around 420,000 took part, recording 6.7 million bird sightings, and it would appear that finches and tits have enjoyed a golden 12 months.
Sparrows were the most commonly spotted birds
There are lots of London bird photos of these small species which suffer particularly badly in cold weather, but they have benefited from a mild start to the winter that followed a good breeding season. Blackbird sightings in gardens were down – the result of plentiful food elsewhere – but a dearth of robins followed a poor nesting season.
It's important to note that this year’s event took place before the “Beast from East” arrived. It is not yet know what impact the strom had on our bird populations.
However, the icy weather did bring some birds into the UK, with redwings and fieldfares arriving in large numbers, seeking to escape the even harsher weather to the east.
The top 10 birds in the 2018 Big Garden Birdwatch
1. House Sparrow (non-mover)
2. Starling (non-mover)
3. Blue Tit (+1)
4. Blackbird (-1)
5. Wood Pigeon (non-mover)
6. Goldfinch (non-mover)
7. Great Tit (+1)
8. Robin (-1)
9. Long tailed-tit (+1)
10. Chaffinch (-1)
The biggest increase in sightings compared to the previous year were for the brightly coloured goldfinch (+11%), long-tailed tit (+16%) and coal tit (+15%).
Starlings were the second most common sighting this year, but have fallen by 80% since 1979, when the spectacular murmurations their flocks form were a far more common sight.
In May and June 2017, when the birds breed, the weather was warm, meaning more birds fledged. The autumn and winter were then mild, meaning more survived. Blue tits and chaffinches were also seen more often.
The long-term trend seen in the data from the birdwatch, which began in 1979, shows chaffinches have declined by 55% but all the tits have increased.
But the drop in robin sightings stems from a poor breeding season in 2017. The reason is unclear but may, paradoxically, be the result of too many robins competing with each other for food to raise their chicks.
Sparrows were the most commonly spotted birds, with an average of over four per gardens. More than 1 million were counted, close to last year’s figure. Sparrow sightings have fallen by 57% in the four decades of the birdwatch, though the decline has levelled off in the last decade.
A drop in robin sightings stems from a poor breeding season in 2017. The reason is unclear but may, paradoxically, be the result of too many robins competing with each other for food to raise their chicks.
Starlings were the second most common sighting this year, but have fallen by 80% since 1979, when the spectacular murmurations their flocks form were a far more common sight.
One species that has inadvertently benefited from agricultural changes is the woodpigeon, which has the ability to breed all year when food is available. Sightings have shot up tenfold since 1979 as the planting of winter wheat became more common, providing shoots which the birds enjoy.