Disappearing garden birds!

Summer has finally arrived (for some), all be it late, birds have been struggling to raise their young in the wet, cold weather and now they have chicks it looks like they are disappearing from view. Where have they all gone and when will they return?

During the breeding season, birds will hold their territories and attract their mates by singing and often physically defending their space. Often at this time of year you will hear less bird song as they focus their attention on raising their young and finding food for the numerous mouths they have to feed.  Once the young birds have left the nest, the adults will continue to feed their young for a few weeks and teach them what they need to know for their life ahead, before they go their separate ways. Part of this process includes utilising the abundance of natural food that is available to them. Many birds will leave our gardens and find seeds, fruits and berries to incorporate into their diet, from the wider area, including scrub land in our urban areas and the countryside, especially at harvest time when there is discarded, split seed on the ground. Unsurprisingly, many birds are attracted to the natural food in preference to the food we place at our feeding stations. Supplementary feeding only accounts for about 10% of a bird’s diet, and once the autumn months approach and the temperatures drop the birds will return to the feeders. 

                                                                                   House Sparrow feeding their young - Steve Austin (rspb-images.com)

Towards the end of the breeding season, birds will naturally moult their feathers. Parent birds have little time to preen and clean their feathers, giving some birds a shabby, unkempt appearance. Birds will moult at different rates; some will lose a few feathers at a time, where others will lose most of their feathers in a short time, giving them a bald look. Mite infestations are often another cause for feather loss, often on the bird’s head, but once they go through their moult they will grow new feathers and have normal plumage again.  While they are going through their moult and replacing their flight feathers they can be vulnerable to attack from predators and territorial disputes. This results in birds finding deep cover in our gardens and parks while their new feathers grow. The moulting process can take anything up to eight weeks, but it does vary from bird to bird.

                                                                                             Blackbird taking a bath - Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)

You may find that you still have the odd visitor to your feeders through this lean period, but once the autumn and winter months arrive and the berries have been eaten, the birds will return to our gardens and feeders.