Where are all the birds?

I have lived in Dawlish, Devon for seven months but have yet to see a single blue tit, great tit, sparrow or chaffinch in my medium-sized bird-friendly garden. Before living here I lived about three miles away near Teignmouth. There all these birds - except the sparrow - were regular residents/visitors for most of the year, along with a plentiful supply of greenfinches and goldfinches. (I saw only ONE sparrow in  that garden in the ten years I lived there!).

Here in Dawlish I have seen ONE (dead) greenfinch and saw two goldfinches when we first moved here - none since - not even in the cold weather around Christmas. (Yet there are greenfinches a few score of yards away nearer the town as well as a few sparrows in some of the local gardens).

We have had very rare visits from a coal tit, one from a pair of long-tailed tits, a nuthatch once or twice, ditto a wren (before the cold spell) and, once,  a green woodpecker. The only regular residents / visitors are song thrushes, blackbirds, robins, dunnocks and... blackcaps!

We've put out all the usual bird food - sunflower hearts, nyger seed and currants but the currants are the only food that gets taken. the other food is studiously ignored! what am I doing wrong? Or is the lack of some of these birds (the tits, especially) more general?

We did have a quite large flock of redwings during the cold weather but nothing else either common or rare.

Can anyone think why this should be so?

I'm very saddened and mystified.

  • Weird isn't it. I think you just have to be patient & hope the birds will eventually arrive in your garden.

    Years ago I had the same problem with Siskins, none at all, yet my friend who only lived a street away had two pairs in her garden over that Winter.

    They do come here now, but not every day.

     

    We have had one Greenfinch lately, but our population was wiped out by Trichomonas.

    Best wishes

    Val.

  • Thanks, Val

    I suppose I'll just have to pray!

    Two golfinches did appear today according to my wife. (I was out)!.

    I've put the nyger seed a bit further off on an apple tree. Maybe that was a factor?!

    BW

    Arby

  • Our niger feeders are hanging with the other feeders, it doesn't seem to bother the Goldfinches. Though a couple of ours tend to go for the sunflower hearts as well.

    Best wishes

    Val.

  • Hi Arby,

    Any luck with attracting more birds?  I've had some unusual visits this year - a coal tit and 2 long tailed tits, but I've never seen a great tit in my garden despite the fact that I've seen, (and heard) them not far away.  The other day, though, I saw a chaffinch in my garden for the first time - so there's always hope.

    BW

    Anne

    Annie

    Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.

    Einstein