Where have all the wee birds gone?

Hi folks,

I've always been partial to birdsong but until recently I haven't had a garden worthy of spending any time. Still, sparrows, blackbirds, tits, finches and wrens used to be a reasonably familiar sight. Now that I've cleared out the toxic dump and lay claim to having a garden, I find that the only winged creatures around are either pigeons or magpies. Lots of magpies. My neighbours have observed the same and think the magpies are deterring the smaller birds. This is in Oxford, by the way. Is it the same where you are?

There've been recent reports of wasp numbers falling, so I wonder if there's something lower down the food chain/ecosystem.

Are you seeing any changes this year to bird numbers in your area? If so, please share what's going on.

Most importantly, if you've solved the mystery of keeping magpies away, please share it.

Many thanks!

 

I have small birds they tend to be in and out of the scrub behind me and also in the shrubs, seldom see any mind you. There are a lot less than there used to be, probably related to the drop in insect numbers.
I have magpies and crows both of which I welcome and then there are overweight pigeons and squawking seagulls.
I cannot understand why anyone would want to keep magpies away, they are beautiful birds and the only problem I have is that they pull the labels out and don't put them back after reading them.

 

Lots of small (and larger) birds here. Not seen any decline, if anything the opposite! Perhaps we are getting your share. What we did find was the more we fed the birds the more arrived. We also started to vary what and where we fed them which seemed to help as some liked sunflower hearts, some peanuts. Magpies are only really a threat to small young birds, the adults here don't seem too bothered by the numerous magpies we get. The squirrel "proof" feeders we have on most feeders also stop the magpies. I've found the Jays to be a lot more of a problem for small young birds around here, they are even more devious than the magpies, but still lovely birds.
For anyone with problems with squirrels on the bird feeders I've recently found Cayenne pepper added to the feed puts them off.... And no, it does not impact the birds.

 

I don't feed them at all, there are plenty of seedheads left for them and plenty of shelter.
Some of the neighbours feed them "ad absurdem" and I end up finding peanuts buried everywhere.

 

Pigeons, seagulls, magpies and crows abound here, but we get lots of smaller birds too, particularly blackbirds and robins. Also the odd sparrow hawk and the occasional pheasant (who must qualify as dimmest avian ever, given their apparent total lack of smarts and extreme flusterability).

@tommyrot, do you have mature shrubs for them to shelter in? Smaller ones need cover. Also, are there a lot of pet cats in your neighbourhood? That can put them off.

 

Small and large birds here, lots of Goldfinch, Sparrows and Siskins but a few not seen so often now like Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Chaffinch and Dunnock. Magpies, Pigeons and Jackdaws are the main large ones in the garden. Moulting birds tend to hide more.

 

We have had an abundance of baby blue tits, great tits, robins, chaffinches, siskins, nuthatches and bullfinches this year. And a lot of adults too, plus the usual adult sparrows, pigeons, collared doves, magpies, jackdaws, and crows. One or two wrens.

Mind you, we have been putting out food for them since early winter and are still providing them with whole peanuts and those little suet pellets, which are served on a dish system suspended from metal poles which have been liberally smeared with Vaseline and therefore squirrel-proofed. The feeders are a couple of metres away from large shrubs/small trees which give protection from the local kestrel and sparrowhawk.

The birds have access to three large bird baths, which are kept cleaned every day, plus three ponds which are more under the cover of trees.

It’s a sort of avian Hilton and costs us a small fortune, but we think it’s worth it.

Oh, and the blackbirds just LOVE the blueberry bushes.

 

It's normal for the garden birds to disappear at this time of year. I too am down to magpies and pigeons but they'll all be back before too long. See Where do birds go in late summer?

 

I enjoy the magpies, they are real characters. My main issue is that they stash food in the plant pots, and then then the foxes smell it and dig it up!

 

Many birds will be doing their summer moult, but my garden's never been busier with small birds.
Blue, great and coal tits, dunnocks, house sparrows, goldfinches etc.

 

I can't say I've noticed a decline in bird numbers, but I always seem to see more in the spring than at other times.
There were two big pheasants on my garage roof yesterday. There are lots of them around here.

 

I get a fair few small birds, they like sunflower hearts, mostly sparrows, bluetits, great tits, gold finches, robins, wrens, etc.
I do get magpies but they seem to have moved on for the time being, they will be back, just watched a kestrel circling overhead, got the usual pigeons and doves.
Sea gulls around evening time or early morning.

Lots of bushes and shrubs to perch in and take cover from the odd sparrow hawk is what the smaller birds seem to like

 

Sparrows galore and blue tits and great tits. Every now and then we have a small flock of long tails. The adult robins seem to have disappeared but we do have juveniles. Pigeons and magpies always around. Haven't heard or seen a wren for some weeks now. Woodpecker family we see each day but not all at the same time. Haven't seen a dunnock for ages.

 

Loads of birds here but I have noticed an absenceof chaffinches and greater spotted woodpeckers lately. i'm assuming they've finished raising young and may be moulting.

We feed the birds all year, have a pond plus a few water bowls about the place and lots of trees and shrubs. We leave large areas wild to encourage insects and that brings in all sorts of birds including migrants such as swallows and house and sand martins. We do nothing about ants in the dry areas and that attracts green woodpeckers.

Put away the weedkillers and pesticides, provide the food and the shelter and you'll get birds.

 

I only see the tits occasionally - they come in a mixed flock of juveniles and make a quick raid on the feeders before disappearing again. Robin usually stops by in the evening for a few sunflower seeds, looking pretty tatty. The magpies are moulting too, some of them have naked necks but they don't seem self-conscious about it! .