The only small bird I see in my garden in North East London is a robin Apart from the robin we have pigeons the odd black bird (some times) is there a reason why, even now coming on to autumn we don't see any other birds? We have a lot of trees surrounding our houses. I have asked the RSPB before and they always say it is because of the birds staying in the forest we have near by, but we seem to see less birds every year. We have a busy Motor way type road near by would this have any reason for the lack of birds?
It's unusual not to see any birds, I would have thought. I don't think the motorway would be a problem - in fact, roads often create wildlife corridors and are a great place to see all sorts of species. Do you have feeders, or a bird bath? Birds will always be on the lookout for an easy source of food and water! Another thought occurs, which is if you have any cats in the neighbourhood? These could make your birds more cautious and therefore less likely to be seen.
In the meantime, have fun watching your robin and the blackbirds!
Make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games [Robert Falcon Scott]
I also think small birds like lots of twiggy cover nearby, like shrubs and hedges. It gives them more confidence to pop onto feeders and explore gardens.
Its also important to provide some food all year round so the birds can rely on a meal.
I have provided food of one sort or another for almost 2 years now and have a healthy population of about 30 sparrows I see daily, also the 20ft Privet hedge running the length of the garden provides a roosting place for them. Of course all this feeding is not cheap.! *Sorry made a Pun*
See if you can squeeze a few small shrubs in your patch.
I agree with the suggestion that birds like cover and possibly the insects that live in the cover. I have lived in my current house for over 20 years and initially we had a variety of species and a good number of birds. However over the years the mature gardens have been cleared (my husband comments on the roar of the chainsaw as trees are felled and hedges cut back every time someone new moves in to the street). I am sure that this is a contributing factor to the decline in species.
My garden was neglected due to ill health and when eventually most of the garden had to be dug out. I noticed that I lost sparrows and wrens in particular that year. Since replanting and putting in some flowers to attract insects together with the usual bird feeders and water numbers have recovered..
There could be a number of reasons for the lack of birds in your garden - These include: clearance of an area of scrub/woodland etc for a housing or road development, grubbing up of hedgerows, and change in the crops planted in surrounding farmland. In towns, even changes in air pollution levels, prevailing gardening fashions and introduction of cats can have a noticeable local impact under some circumstances. These local changes in bird numbers tend to show up rather faster than any underlying national trends, especially if caused by the destruction of the habitat a particular species depends on in the area. For instance, cutting down the only woodland could cause a sudden disappearance of woodpeckers from the area. Seasonal changes in birds’ behaviour can seem equally sudden and dramatic.
These changes may be linked to national declines, but many of them simply reflect local changes in habitat or the annual cycles of bird behaviour.
More information on this can be seen here
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