The 2017 Big Garden Birdwatch results are out and it's a mixed bag of news across the south east of England.
Participation was up 8.3% compared with ten years ago. Of the 92 thousand plus people who checked the birds that live alongside them, eighty per cent were adults and 20% children. Outside of Greater London, participation was highest in Hampshire, followed closely by Kent and then Surrey.
1.2 million birds were recorded across the south east and waxwings were seen in around 19 times more gardens here in 2017 compared with previous years. The south east also saw numbers of redwing triple while our gardens saw a five-fold increase in fieldfare sightings. Our experts say last years' cold and wet weather drove these three species here from the continent in search of food.
The most common garden bird in the south east is the house sparrow followed by the starling, woodpigeon, blackbird, blue tit, robin, goldfinch, great tit, magpie and collared dove. Short term trends of corvids such as magpies, crows and jackdaws, were relatively steady but declines of sparrows, and starlings’ continued; the latter dropping an alarming 23% over the last decade (2007 to 2017).
Numbers of blue tits slumped 16% since 2007 in line with a national crash in numbers, but this is being put down to their susceptibility to poor weather during their breeding season last year. The steady northwards movement of collared doves continues with numbers here in the south east down 30% compared with 2007; sightings have increased in northern England and Scotland.
Here are the headlines from around the south east based on what you told us about the birds sharing your lives:
Berkshire
Blackbirds, starlings, robins, goldfinches and long tailed tits did well in Berkshire in 2017. House sparrows, tits and woodpigeons were down compared with previous years. Sparrows have slumped 22% over the past decade.
East Sussex
House sparrows are the most commonly seen bird in the gardens of East Sussex; followed by robins and blue tits, although the number of tits has fallen by a fifth over the past ten years. Blackbirds and nuthatches have increased in number compared with both last year and over the past decade. There are fewer collared doves seen now than in 2007.
Hampshire
Common garden birds in Hampshire are generally enjoying a rise in populations, with the exceptions of blue tits and collared doves.Blue tits have dropped 15% compared with last year and are down almost 22% since 2007. Collared doves have seen a 28% drop in numbers over the last decade.Starlings appear to be thriving, up nearly a third on numbers recorded ten years ago and struggling sparrows, having endured a national slump, now appear to be stabilising in Hampshire.
Kent
Kent's most common garden bird is the house sparrow with an average of five recorded in about two thirds of all the gardens surveyed in the county. Starling and blackbird took the second and third places respectively. The county is losing its collared doves though; their numbers have dropped 30% since 2007. The colourful goldfinch has seen its numbers swell 57% over the decade.
Surrey
Surrey's common garden birds are changing. Numbers of blue tits dropped some 18% this year compared with 2016, while sightings of blackbirds, wood pigeons, robins, goldfinches and long tailed tits all rose.
West Sussex
Four of the top five most common garden birds in West Sussex are in decline. The number one bird, the house sparrow and the following three species, starling, woodpigeon and blue tit have all experienced a drop in their numbers, while the fifth placed blackbird has seen its population steadily rise. Increased pressure on habitats from development, changes to rural land management and climate change are the most likely causes driving the change.
Greater London
Numbers of house sparrows in Greater London's gardens continues to drop with the latest data from this year's Big Garden Birdwatch recording a 17% decline in numbers over the past ten years. Extensive research has failed to pinpoint any single cause for the drop but a lack of nesting space and natural food have been identified as two of the drivers of change. The Capital's top gareden bird is the wood pigeon with an average of about three seen in more than 80% of the gardens surveyed.. In third place behind the house sparrow is another declining species; the starling. Their numbers are down 35% since 2007. Sightings of blackbirds, robins, great tits and goldfinches are up but the number of tiny blue tits has slumped 17% over the last decade.
Ring necked parakeets have expanded beyond the M25 and, having reached a peak which put them in seventh place in the results for Greater London in 2015, their numbers appear to dropped back to fifteenth place, closer to the sort of table position they held for the previous twenty to thirty years.
What this tells us is that gardens and green spaces around our homes are increasingly important for many of our native and migrating species. All are seeking natural food supplies of seeds, berries and bugs. Changes in the way rural land is managed have reduced this natural supply, making wilder gardens and public spaces more important than ever.
Putting food out for birds year round is encouraged, but mostly during bad weather when ice or snow locks away food. The RSPB is working with farmers and other landowners to improve conditions for birds and other wildlife in the wider landscape. We’ve been trialing a number of solutions on our nature reserves and will be using this knowledge and experience to try to reverse declines in farmland and wetland birds over the coming months and years. Look out for news on our new food and farming work and how you can help give nature a home.