viewing gardenwatch 2012 results.

You can certainly download the data into Open Office (which is a free open source program) , I've just done it. From there you can save it it in its native .ods format or in various other xls  formats which may be compatible with your old version of Excel.

Does anyone else have concerns about some of the conclusions being drawn from this Year's Big Garden Birdwatch, especially the comments about Starlings. The count came at a weekend following a particularly long mild spell. I had no Starlings and usually have lots. Just two weeks later when the cold spell came along I had at least 9 most of the time. Would the conclusions have been the same if the watch had been two weeks later?

Dave

I found the same thing - I had hardly anything on my table or in the garden that weekend, but just a couple of weeks later they were all squabbling and vying for a place on the table and on the ground. N Wales.

Hi all, I have attached the survey results to this reply and the compatible files are now on the website, i've also moved this thread to the Big Garden Birdwatch forum.

With regards to the results, they do show a reduction in the numbers of starlings turning up in gardens. The Big Garden Birdwatch has been gathering information about trends in garden birds for over thirty years. The results are directly comparable given that the survey is carried out at the same time every year, always the last weekend in January. Remember these trends are national so you may have seen starlings two weeks later that were in someone elses garden during the survey weekend!

This survey methodology gives us valuable insight into trends in garden bird numbers and also gives us information to compare against the other surveys that take place every year such as the Breeding Bird Survey.

Both surveys reflect declines in starlings and we are really concerned about this red listed species, you can find out how to help them via our Homes for Wildlife project.

It may be the same date each year but with climate change how many previous January's would have had such mild weather preceding the count. Surely the weather on the days of the count is the biggest factor in bird numbers coming into a garden and should have the biggest factor applied to it in rationalising the results?

Hi Dave, interesting comments. Climate change is making the winter weather much more unpredictable with milder periods as well as more regular severe storms and extended periods of frost and snow. We do look at the influence of climatic conditions when we look at the results but whenever you plan a survey for you cannot be sure of the weather, moving the survey isn't going to give more accurate results.

The fact is that the Big Garden Birdwatch survey trends echo the results from other surveys, the starling is in decline. It is also reflecting the trends in other species such as the rise of the goldfinch. Whilst climate change is the biggest threat to worldwide bio-diversity, other factors are also affecting birds in the UK.

The starling has suffered declines as a result of human changes to land management over the years. The list is a long one but some of the things that we have done that have put pressure on starlings include excluding them from nesting sites in new or rennovated buildings, felling of mature trees where natural cavity nests could be found, clearing of suitable habitats for development, changes in farming practise resulting in less insect prey for the starlings and the loss of urban green space through development and changes in garden culture. Urban starlings just don't have access to as many lawns, trees or nest sites in roofs as they used to and it is being reflected in the numbers observed.

Yes many people do still see them and yes they are still a relatively common garden bird but their numbers are decreasing and we need to ensure that things don't continue to get worse.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply Ian. I wouldn't doubt the findings and am worried that Starlings are in decline. I'm glad there has been a lot of research. I guess I was concerned by the headline, which I suppose like most headlines are attention grabbing rather than in depth. It seemed to imply the results of this year's Garden Bird Watch was the basis for deciding the Starling was in decline. I'm glad this isn't the case because that would have been like saying there were less Redwings and Fieldfares this year and they were in decline as well. The cold and snow always brings the birds flocking in!

Dave

I have been doing the weekly garden count for the BTO for quite a long time now. I personally have noticed fewer and fewer starlings in my garden. Once I was innundated, but now I am lucky to have half a dozen at once.

We holiday in the UK 6 or 7 times a year. It is very noticeable how the number of starlings differs from county to county. In some counties we don't see a single one all week, whereas in others we see several.