Big Garden Birdwatch 08

Big Garden Birdwatch

Results fromThe RSPB, UK Headquarters

The information recorded helps the RSPB to prioritise its conservation work. The declines that we see over time highlight which birds need our help.

Who were the biggest movers in 2008?

Finches flock to gardens

With an average of 3.60 seen per garden, the house sparrow retained its top spot with starlings coming in second and blackbirds completing the top three.Overall, the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by a fifth since 2004, and house sparrows have decreased by almost two thirds since 1979, and starlings by three quarters over the same period.Despite this, however, four species of finch, which spend the winter in the UK, were seen in increased numbers.

Good winter for finches

Numbers of colourful finches visiting UK gardens over winter are at their highest levels for five years.For the first time in the survey's 29-year history, the striking siskin made it into the top 20, and the scarcer brambling moved from 57 to 36 in the rankings.This increase in bramblings and siskins (up by two thirds in the last five years), suggest that tree seed supplies have been poor this year and they've been forced into gardens to find food.Along with siskin and brambling increases, redpoll numbers skyrocketed, being seen in twice as many gardens this year as last. Again this is probably due to poor supply of food.

Goldfinches on the up

With a third more birds recorded than in 2004, the colourful goldfinch made it in to the top 10 for the first time.Goldfinch numbers swell because our milder winters encourage them to stay here instead of going to southern Europe.Our gardens can be very welcoming to finches, especially those with nyjer seed provided and thistles and teasels left to grow which also provide food.

Here's how the UK's top 10 garden birds stand in 2008:

1. House sparrow

There were an average of 3.60 sparrows per garden. Although they stay at the top of the table, house sparrow numbers have fallen by 64% since 1979.

2. Starling

An average of 3.44 starlings per garden and a decline of 77% since 1979. Starlings are noisy characters usually seen foraging in small flocks.

3. Blackbird

An average of 2.45 per garden, the blackbird moves up one place from last year

4. Blue Tit

Blue tits dropped one place this year with an average of 2.29 per garden. A decrease of 6% since 1979. An agile bird, the blue tit is most often seen flitting onto bird feeders. In winter, family flocks of blue tits are joined by great tits, long-tailed tits and other woodland species, as they search for food.

5. Chaffinch

With an average of 2.15 per garden, the chaffinch held its 5th position. Since 1979, numbers have fallen by 28%

6. Woodpigeon

An average of 1.53 per garden, the woodpigeon continues its success in the UK. It's increased by 665% since 1979. They are the largest of the pigeon family. In flight they have distinctive white wing patches and the tail has a dark band at the end.

7. Collared dove

An average of 1.43 per garden, the collared dove drops a place from last year but has still enjoyed an increase of 411% since 1979. Collared doves originally came from southern Asia and spread from there to the extreme south-east of Europe. They were first recorded in Britain in 1953 and have since become a common garden bird throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

8. Robin

An average of 1.26 per garden robins have climbed one place from last year, but we've still seen a decline of 37% since 1979. Robins are the only garden birds to sing throughout the winter, with both males and females holding winter territories.

9. Great tit

Great tits enjoyed an increase in numbers of 39% since 1979, with an average of 1.25 seen per garden. Great tits feed on seeds and scraps either left on the ground, or on bird tables and in nut feeders.

10. Goldfinch

The biggest mover from 2007, an average of 1.16 goldfinches were recorded in gardens this year.

2008 COUNTY RESULTS

Merseyside

	Species	Mean per garden
1	Goldfinch	1.64
2	Starling	1.34
3	House Sparrow	1.10
4	Blackbird	0.92
5	Blue Tit	0.71
6	Feral pigeon	0.69
7	Collared Dove	0.67
8	Woodpigeon	0.55
9	Long-tailed tit	0.48
10	Robin	0.43

Lancashire

	Species	Mean per garden
1	Starling	3.75
2	House Sparrow	2.25
3	Blackbird	1.50
4	Blue tit	1.45
5	Goldfinch	1.36
6	Long-tailed tit	1.04
7	Collared Dove	0.97
8	Chaffinch	0.95
9	Great Tit	0.76
10	Robin	0.74

Cheshire

	Species	Mean per garden
1	House Sparrow	2.92
2	Starling	2.43
3	Blackbird	1.93
4	Blue tit	1.68
5	Chaffinch	1.27
6	Goldfinch	1.23
7	Woodpigeon	1.14
8	Long-tailed Tit	1.10
9	Collared Dove	0.99
10	Great Tit	0.95

Who were the biggest movers in 2007?

The RSPB believes milder winter temperatures across Europe and bumper fruit crops in hedgerows and woodlands contributed to more birds feeding in the countryside and fewer visiting UK gardens during the winter.

The RSPB's 2007 Big Garden Birdwatch results show smaller numbers of several songbirds in gardens, most notably those whose winter numbers are usually swelled by seasonal migrants from the continent; So you'll see the blackbird down to fourth from third.

Here's how the UK's top 10 garden birds stand:

1. House sparrow

There were an average of 4.4 sparrows per garden. Although they stay at the top of the table, house sparrow numbers have fallen by 56% since 1979.

2. Starling

An average of 3.67 starlings per garden and a decline of 76% since 1979. Starlings are noisy characters usually seen foraging in small flocks. This winter, fewer migrant starlings joined our resident birds from northern Europe because of the milder weather.

3. Blue tit

Blue tits continue to do well, with an average of 2.82 per garden (up from 2.7 last year) and an increase of 16% since 1979. An agile bird, the blue tit is most often seen flitting onto bird feeders. In winter, family flocks of blue tits are joined by great tits, long-tailed tits and other woodland species, as they search for food.

4. Blackbird

An average of 2.26 per garden, the blackbird dropped down one place from last year. This winter, with above-average temperatures, meant that fewer blackbirds migrated to the UK from northern Europe, and this may explain the drop in numbers this year.

5. Chaffinch

With an average of 1.9 per garden, the chaffinch held its 5th position, but numbers were slightly down on last year. Since 1979, numbers have fallen by 36%.

6. Collared dove

An average of 1.56 per garden and an increase of 456% since 1979. Collared doves originally came from southern Asia and spread from there to the extreme south-east of Europe. They were first recorded in Britain in 1953 and since have become a common garden bird throughout Great Britain and Ireland.

7. Woodpigeon

An average of 1.53 per garden, the woodpigeon continues its success in the UK. It's increased by 666% since 1979. Woodpigeons moved up from number 8 in 2006. They are the largest of the pigeon family. In flight they have distinctive white wing patches and the tail has a dark band at the end.

8. Great tit

An average of 1.37 per garden and an increase of 52% since 1979. The great tit saw a slight drop in 2007, perhaps milder weather has meant there are better natural food sources available and kept them away from garden feeders.

9. Robin

An average of 1.26 per garden and a decline of 37% since 1979. Robins are the only garden birds to sing throughout the winter, with both males and females holding winter territories. In winter, some robins migrate from Europe to the UK, and the mild European winter could explain why there were fewer seen in 2007 than in 2006.

10. Greenfinch

The biggest mover in 2007, the average garden recorded 1.2 greenfinches, compared to 1.7 per garden in 2006. This species is still up 21% since 1979. Perhaps milder weather meant there are better natural food sources available and kept them away from garden feeders.

2007 COUNTY RESULTS

Merseyside

	Species	Mean per garden
1	starling	3.72
2	house sparrow	3.37
3	blue tit	2.47
4	blackbird	2.44
5	collared dove	1.59
6	woodpigeon	1.46
7	greenfinch	1.34
8	goldfinch	1.34
9	magpie	1.32
10	great tit	1.16
11	robin	1.12
12	feral pigeon	0.97
13	chaffinch	0.90
14	dunnock	0.83
15	coal tit	0.52

Lancashire

	Species	Mean per garden
1	starling	4.80
2	house sparrow	3.96
3	blue tit	2.75
4	blackbird	2.53
5	collared dove	1.84
6	chaffinch	1.52
7	great tit	1.24
8	goldfinch	1.23
9	robin	1.20
10	greenfinch	1.18
11	magpie	1.13
12	dunnock	0.92
13	woodpigeon	0.79
14	long-tailed tit	0.78
15	coal tit	0.62

Cheshire

	Species	Mean per garden
1	house sparrow	4.44
2	blue tit	2.85
3	starling	2.63
4	blackbird	2.43
5	chaffinch	1.57
6	woodpigeon	1.49
7	collared dove	1.42
8	great tit	1.38
9	goldfinch	1.36
10	robin	1.30
11	greenfinch	1.13
12	magpie	1.07
13	dunnock	1.00
14	long-tailed tit	0.97
15	coal tit	0.66

2006 UK top 20 list

Who were the biggest movers in 2006?

The main changes for 2006 can be explained by the harsh winter in Europe . The numbers of birds that migrate to spend the winter in the UK were higher than last year, so you'll see the blackbird up to third, the chaffinch up to fifth and the song thrush, which dropped out of the top 20 last year, re-entering at number 20.

There was no change at the top of the table with house sparrow remaining at number one, although there was a slight drop in their numbers since last year. Starlings, at number two were seen in half of all gardens. Looking in the longer-term trend, we can still see the house sparrow and starling continue their decline, down by 56 and 76% respectively since 1979.

The most noticeable change was with blackbirds, with numbers up by a quarter, and up one place in the table as a result (blackbirds also remain our most widespread bird, seen in nearly 95% of gardens). Chaffinches, goldfinches and song thrushes also showed big increases since last year.

These species with increasing numbers are generally ones with considerable populations of winter immigrants to the UK. As we know there has been a hard winter on the continent, it is probable that higher than average numbers have migrated across to the UK this year.

It is worth pointing out that although some of these species have been recorded in greater numbers this winter, the long-term trends are down since we started in 1979. Song thrushes are down by 41%, (with blackbirds, chaffinches and robins down by 25%, 25%, and 32%), whereas collared doves have increased by 416% and woodpigeons by 665%.

Some other garden favourites such as blue and great tits, wrens and greenfinches are all doing well (up 12%, 57%, 140% and 67% respectively).

Some more unusual species were also commoner in our gardens this year. For example, the number of siskins was up by 483% from last year, and bramblings were up by 371%.

The information recorded helps the RSPB to prioritise its conservation work. The declines that we see over time highlight which birds need our help.

1. House sparrow

There were an average of 4.4 sparrows per garden. Although they stay at the top of the table, house sparrow numbers fell again this year, increasing their long-term decline to 56% since 1979.

2. Starling

An average of 3.64 starlings per garden and a decline of 76% since 1979. Starlings are noisy characters usually seen foraging in small flocks. In winter, migrant starlings from northern Europe join the resident birds and form huge flocks at regular roosts.

3. Blackbird

An average of 3 per garden and an increase of 24% since last year. In winter, migrant blackbirds from northern Europe join our resident birds, and this harsh European winter may explain the big increase this year.

4. Blue tit

An average of 2.7 per garden and an increase of 12% since 1979. An agile bird, the blue tit is most often seen flitting onto bird feeders. In winter, family flocks of blue tits are joined by great tits, long-tailed tits and other woodland species, as they search for food.

5. Chaffinch

An average of 2 per garden and a 30% increase since 2005. The chaffinch has moved back up to 5th, after dropping to 6th in 2005. In winter, migrant chaffinches from Scandinavia and Northern Europe join our resident birds and the cold weather there this year could explain the large rise in numbers in 2006.

6. Greenfinch

An average of 1.7 per garden and an increase of 67% since 1979. The greenfinch moved down one place in the table this year, to make way for chaffinches, which saw a big increase in numbers.

7. Collared dove

An average of 1.6 per garden and an increase of 416% since 1979. Collared doves originally came from southern Asia and spread from there to the extreme south-east of Europe . They were first recorded in Britain in 1953 and since have become a common garden bird throughout Great Britain and