Peregrine fans, have I got news for you. But first, this Wednesday the results of January's Big Garden Birdwatch are publicly released, you can see the London results here.
For data dweebs this is an exciting time, the results give a snapshot of the state of our garden birds. It's not the immediate figures that are most interesting. Every year has its own story that changes with the weather. The real interest lies in the long term results. The survey, now the world's biggest, has been running for thirty years.
It was the first study that really triggered national alarm bells over the decline of both the house sparrow and the starling. These are our two most common garden species. They probably still are nationally. Look at the more local statistics and you get a different story. In 2008, house sparrows were more or less absent from Central London, surviving in a few isolated colonies.
The RSPB, along with local authorities and other conservation groups are working hard to reverse this decline. The mystery of the vanishing cockney sparra, hasn't yet been resolved, but we're getting closer to the cause. Gardening for wildlife is not the holy grail of sparrow restoration, but it will certainly help. That's why were on a crusade to convince gardeners of the need to plant hedges, shrubs and flowering plants. Sparrows need a seed and berry diet most of the year, but in the breeding season, they need insects to survive. London isn't bug free, but we've done a good job of reducing the number of creepy crawlies in our gardens.
Finally, here's the gossip you bird of prey fans clicked in to read:
I've been hearing good gossip on the sex lives of a pair of our London peregrines. They normally pair for life and the male does most of the hunting to feed their offspring. A couple of years ago, Misty, the female of the pair we showcase at the Tate Modern ditched her old mate (Houdini) and took up with a younger male (Bert). Now it appears he's got a young mistress! He's shuttling between Misty and the new one. Poor boy will be exhausted by the end of this breeding season. We'll have to wait and see what happens in this new soap opera. Let's call it Peregrinations; the wandering of a young bird about town.