The Big Garden Birdwatch is celebrating its 35th year this year and has got us all thinking about what we see in our garden and when. We may notice fewer of some species and more of others, but rarely is the number the same. Did you take part and if so, have you sent in your results?
We experienced some technical issues over the weekend when large numbers of people were submitting their Big Garden Birdwatch counts. We’re very sorry if this was the case for you. We’re happy to report we’re now getting lots of bird counts submitted online this week. If you haven’t sent us your count yet, or if you’re not sure if you submitted successfully, please do try again.
So why is this plea on the climate change blog? Well, long-term surveys such as the Big Garden Birdwatch, Birdtrack or the Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar, enable us to build up a long term picture of what is happening in the natural world and whether changes are a one off or indicate a trend. They help us discover which species need help, which are doing well and what impact a changing climate is having on our wildlife.
There is already plenty of evidence that some flowers are blooming, trees coming into leaf, butterflies emerging and migrant birds arriving earlier in recent years than aournd 30 years ago. We are seeing species of birds more associated with southern Europe and Africa such as egrets, hoopoes and ibises shifting their ranges further north and some summer migrants such as blackcaps spending the winter here in increasing numbers.
Although a glimpse of an exotic looking egret or hoopoe on our shores is certainly exciting, the changing climate is likely to have a significant adverse impact on many more species that will struggle to adapt to a changing world.
Birds time their breeding to coincide with when their food supplies are most abundant. Our garden birds have evolved to breed when caterpillars and other invertebrates are widely available. A changing climate could stretch and even break this natural synchronicity, leaving the birds without food when they need it most. Increased rainfall and subsequent flooding can wash away the nests of ground nesting birds and storm and tidal surges will inundate freshwater habitats, killing its inhabitants.
The impacts on our garden birds and other wildlife may be less obvious than the devastation caused by flooding and storms. Yet over time, our gardens are an important window into changes happening to the wildlife that visits them. Big Garden Birdwatch helps us know where species are occurring, whether their populations are declining and how this it is changing over time.
So, whether it is your first or 35th Big Garden Birdwatch, your results help us to build up an ongoing picture of what is happening to the UK’s garden birds and other wildlife. And who knows how the Birdwatch results will look in 35 years, and compare to the results that are coming in now?