Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Blackbird numbers plummet in London
Image: Nigel Blake/RSPB
Blackbirds are vanishing from London’s gardens, but goldfinches are moving in by the dozen.
The latest figures from the Breeding Birds Survey [BBS 2011] reveal London is the only region in the UK where the number of blackbirds has dropped, falling by almost a quarter (22%).
The BBS survey started in 1994 and offers an annual comparison on bird populations across Britain. It is the UK Government’s main scheme for monitoring bird species as an indicator of the state of our environment’s health.
London’s thrushes appear to struggling to survive in London with blackbirds (down 22%), mistle (-51%) and song (-31%) thrushes all showing a drop in numbers last year compared with the baseline recorded in 1994.
House sparrows (-69%) and starlings (-40%) have seen their long-term decline continue. London’s mallard ducks and feral pigeons are also down compared with figures for 1994.
As these traditional urban residents decline, new ones are moving in. Goldfinches are up a massive 242% in the same seventeen-year period. Other species increasingly common in our gardens include blue tit, great tit, wren, robin, chaffinch and greenfinch.
The cause, or causes, of the change are not clear. One issue for London is its increasing loss and fragmentation of gardens. Demand for housing and parking is consuming space and the Capital’s population continues to grow; the latest population estimate shows 8.2 million people living in London.
The RSPB is supporting measures to increase public meadows of grass and wildflowers, alongside management plans that ensure year round coverage of vegetation, especially during the bird-breeding season. More meadows, like those created around the popular Olympic Park, are needed.
Londoners can help by using any available outdoor space to grow nectar and seed rich plants. For more about how you can help see the RSPB website.
Story from the RSPB
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Michael Anderson on
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Seen this in our garden. Blackbirds and Great and Blue Tits were the most regular visitors but we now have Green, Gold and Chaffinches, Robins and Wood Pigeons. A great pity because the Blackbirds really kept down the snails. And they were cheeky and sang beautifully. The other ones that have seemed to have gone are House Sparrows, Starlings and Thrushes. We still have a shy Wren who pops out now and then and has a good sing.
On top of the other things that have influenced change, could the influx of seabirds have added to their decline?
A bit of food and regular access to water and no pesticides is all that's needed to help our wild birds, even during the bounty months of summer.
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Permalink Reply by james walsh on
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Would the very wet summer have something to do with the decline in blackbirds and swallows ? They must have found it impossible to feed themselves & chicks ?
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That's probably an impact too.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on
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I was delighted to see some sparrows feeding in my garden the other day but compared to my Mum and Dad's garden in Suffolk, where they are in abundance, they are relatively scarce. Wrens do better in mild winters so I've seen a welcome increase in them and in other finches. Also the delightful long-tailed tit showed up the other day. I think James is right that wet weather at the 'wrong' time affects the food supply so it is important that we keep feeding birds through the summer months. Fatballs from Wilkies are cheap and the fledglings flock to them.
My garden is a veritable jungle of trees and bushes with ivy, brambles and berries (on purpose) to encourage birds, bees and butterflies (also not abundant this year) but a lot of paved over empty gardens are causing problems for native wildlife. It's not all naughty landlords though. The 'extra room outdoors' movement sparked by design programmes didn't help as people sculpted their gardens, decked and paved them and in the process removed valuable habitat.
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Landlords that have no connection with this area come in and convert Houses to multiple occupancy flats. In my little street of 10 houses I have seen 3 hedges disappear, three front gardens being paved over and trees disappear, I see the same is going on everywhere in the borough. I don't know how any birds survive to be honest. I am writing this to the sound of 2 chainsaws rattling away in a neighbours garden cutting down several trees in full bloom. It is simply outrageous. Please complain to the council if you think landlord's are converting their Houses in an outrageous way. http://www.planningservices.haringey.gov.uk/portal/servlets/Applica...
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I gage the ripeness of my figs by the arrival of starlings. I can go a whole year with rarely a visit however as soon as the first fig is getting ready to eat gangs of raucous starlings descend. They are welcome to the ones at the top but the ones within reach are mine! Unfortunately this year the figs are late, still green and small.
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