'With surprising patterns of garden use by birds, it looks set to be an interesting winter for garden birdwatchers. We can only chart the patterns of movements by garden birds with the help of the public, and if you enjoy watching the birds in your garden, you can help add to this vital information.' - Clare Simm, BTO Garden BirdWatch Team
Unusual weather in 2014 prompting the question: what will the winter hold for our garden birds?
Wren, image: Jill Pakenham/BTO
The unusual weather of 2014 has clearly driven unexpected highs and lows in our garden bird numbers. And with another bumper crop of food in the wider countryside, the latest British Trust for Ornithology Garden BirdWatch (GBW) results show that some species have abandoned gardens for the second autumn in a row whilst other species are being seen in unprecedented numbers. This prompts the question: what will happen this winter?
The year has not produced the expected patterns in garden use that we have come accustomed to seeing from our regular bird visitors with the summer bringing somewhat of a false dawn. It looked for a while like garden bird species were returning to normal numbers with the warm, settled weather leading to an early breeding season, boosting numbers of birds such as Wren and Goldfinch.
Unfortunately, high numbers did not persist. With a bumper crop of seeds and berries in the wider countryside for the second year in a row, there has been a dip in many species, matching patterns seen last year. Chaffinches started off in very low numbers at the beginning of the year, looked like they could be returning to gardens in August, but then dropped off again, and the pattern of Coal Tits is similar. However, other seed-eating species have remained in high numbers in gardens, such as Nuthatch and Jay.
Clare Simm, from the BTO Garden BirdWatch team, commented: "With surprising patterns of garden use by birds, it looks set to be an interesting winter for garden birdwatchers. We can only chart the patterns of movements by garden birds with the help of the public, and if you enjoy watching the birds in your garden, you can help add to this vital information."
If you, or someone you know, spend a few minutes each week watching what the birds get up to in your garden, then that is already enough to take part in the BTO Garden BirdWatch. The BTO Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 14,500 people take part in the project. The project is funded by participants’ contributions and is the largest year-round survey of garden birds in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw.
There is also a festive BTO Garden BirdWatch gift pack available, or to find out more information about the BTO Garden BirdWatch, please get in touch by emailing gbw@bto.org, telephoning 01842 750050, or write to GBW Gift Pack, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU. More information on the gift pack can also be found at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/join/garden-birdwatch-gift-pack
www.bto.org
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The year has not produced the expected patterns in garden use that we have come accustomed to seeing from our regular bird visitors with the summer bringing somewhat of a false dawn. It looked for a while like garden bird species were returning to normal numbers with the warm, settled weather leading to an early breeding season, boosting numbers of birds such as Wren and Goldfinch.
Unfortunately, high numbers did not persist. With a bumper crop of seeds and berries in the wider countryside for the second year in a row, there has been a dip in many species, matching patterns seen last year. Chaffinches started off in very low numbers at the beginning of the year, looked like they could be returning to gardens in August, but then dropped off again, and the pattern of Coal Tits is similar. However, other seed-eating species have remained in high numbers in gardens, such as Nuthatch and Jay.
Clare Simm, from the BTO Garden BirdWatch team, commented: "With surprising patterns of garden use by birds, it looks set to be an interesting winter for garden birdwatchers. We can only chart the patterns of movements by garden birds with the help of the public, and if you enjoy watching the birds in your garden, you can help add to this vital information."
If you, or someone you know, spend a few minutes each week watching what the birds get up to in your garden, then that is already enough to take part in the BTO Garden BirdWatch. The BTO Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 14,500 people take part in the project. The project is funded by participants’ contributions and is the largest year-round survey of garden birds in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw.
There is also a festive BTO Garden BirdWatch gift pack available, or to find out more information about the BTO Garden BirdWatch, please get in touch by emailing gbw@bto.org, telephoning 01842 750050, or write to GBW Gift Pack, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU. More information on the gift pack can also be found at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/join/garden-birdwatch-gift-pack
www.bto.org
SIMILAR ARTICLES YOU WILL APPRECIATE:
- Field test: new Vanguard Endeavor ED II series 8x42 binoculars
- The latest innovation from Swarovski Optik will allow a new perspective in smartphone photography
- Summer bird feeding tips from the BTO
- New Vortex Viper HD 12x50 Roof Prism Binoculars arrive in the UK
- New edition of classic handbook, released to celebrate 125 years of the RSPB