WHERE HAS THIS COMMON UK GARDEN BIRD GONE?

[@baldieman64]

Privett hedges are no longer common, and country hedgerows are often brutally cut back mechanically, and this makes a huge difference to blackbirds and thrushes.

[@SaintsofAvalon]

I'm near Doncaster in South Yorkshire and this year's been dead as far as birds and butterfly's go , bees have been rare as well and all that's altered is the new 5G tower 200yds down the road . 100 yds in the opposite direction and it's 2 miles of fields and woodland till the next village . Seen a handful of sparrows and the usual pair of blackbirds have been nesting nearby but the bluetits and finches have been none existent as has the pied wagtails that usually hop up and down the footpath , replaced by a few crows and half a dozen magpies in the trees across the road . Bird feeders and the rhubarb that's usually filled with birds after the bugs have been desolate .

[@bstrippy1664]

@@SaintsofAvalon unfortunately there seems to be a similar picture for most people. It is rather worrying especially the regular birds that are not regular anymore and like you said the butterflies .. I remember catching butterflies in my dad’s garden on the budhlea bushes… There would be about three or four butterflies per flower … now I am lucky to have one or two visitors a day in summer

[@SaintsofAvalon]

@@bstrippy1664 Not bird related but the usual frog migration that see's a few squished on the lane hasn't materialised this year either . A mid to end of September thing when the frogs come back to the wood for the winter from across the fields . Not seen any squished as yet which is late in the year now by almost a month if they are coming back .Still have our toads that live in the garden and not as many but the hedgehogs have been around most nights as the slugs have exploded this year .

[@grahamhall2662]

Here in West Yorkshire 15 miles south of Leeds rural. blackbird, wood pigeon, blue tit, goldfinch, dunnock, robin, wren, magpie crows, great tit, black cap, chaffinch, ring neck dove, healthy population . Sparrow used to be numerous but very few at present, long tailed tit pass through troupe regular, sparrow hawk and kestrel occasionally, tawny owl certain times heard, buzzard regular visitor, swallows seasonal, cuckoo not heard for about ten years, woodpecker rare, pheasant common, grouse, once a year, geese flying over common, nightingale yearly late spring heard not seen, usually when wet and windy. greenfinch, thrush, uncommon, bullfinch and fieldfare seen once in 18 years, no starlings. Fascinating observation Ben thank you, all can think of for now.

[@bstrippy1664]

I’m moving in with you!😂

[@paulgee6111]

I've noticed a reduction in both house sparrows and blackbirds but an uptick in pigeons and predators and carrion feeders including Peregrines, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Magpies and the first time I've seen them consistently in the lowlands, Ravens. All seen in the city of Leicester. Best way to find Blackbirds is to get out at dawn and listen for them singing. They sing all night in Leicester due to the street lights though.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@paulgee6111 yep that’s pretty much the same here in Northampton so not far away from each other.

[@paulgee6111]

@@bstrippy1664 Blackbirds are very partial to Red Leicester cheese!

[@zodiaczigzag1853]

Haven't seen any blackbird at all, loads of crows magpies & pigeons, hardly see a sparrow, noticed since they stopped culling magpies don't see many small birds at all

[@bstrippy1664]

I seem to have plenty of sparrows and the usual like starlings robbing lots of pigeons lots of magpies but no blackbirds fingers crossed they’ll arrive home for Christmas 😂

[@claireangier3322]

Blackbirds are in molt at the moment, I've heard one of two in the distance but they are hiding until they have renewed their feathers. Ours normally come back to feed from our garden by the beginning of November. I protect my birds as much as I can from neighbours cats, I've found dead finches in the last few weeks in my garden with bloody wounds around their necks. So annoying its such a waste!! 😤

[@bstrippy1664]

@@claireangier3322 I have seen a few more in the last week or so and I am sure they will be back. It is a shame about the cats but unfortunately we can’t do anything about it but just to live with it.

[@Will-kt5jk]

I my area (Somerset) we have loads of blackbirds. Magpies have never been rare around here either. Maybe fewer carrion crows this year & the ravens have been quieter. Wood pigeons are everywhere round here, as always.

[@GarryGreen-e9u]

Sparrowhawks and magpies

[@bstrippy1664]

@@GarryGreen-e9u is that all?

[@GarryGreen-e9u]

Sparrowhawks are very abundant these days , but yes lack of hedge's in city's replaced by fences

[@bstrippy1664]

@@GarryGreen-e9u I would find that difficult I would… I would miss the bird song too much.

[@alanduncan9204]

Magpies were not in N.E. Scotland when I was a kid in the 60's. By the 2,000's they were 20 miles South of where I live. Now they are all over the place. I have also seen Sparrow hawks this last couple of years. All Green Finches, Coal Tits, Blue tits, Chaffinches, Thrushes and Blackbird are gone. Starlings, Jackdaws, Crows, Rooks, Wood Pigeon and House Sparrows and one Robin is all I have seen. The Bird Flu I think has devastated more birds than we can imagine.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@alanduncan9204 it is very sad times when you look at the broad picture… so hard to see.

[@anniev9762]

Hi, been watching your videos for the past week, I saw a blackbird local to me, around 3 weeks ago, red kites are scavengers, I hope the blackbirds return again, have a great weekend 😅

[@bstrippy1664]

Thanks for watching. I too have seen a couple but not many and not really heard them either.

[@GregPodster133]

Blame the little black and white nest robbers, Ben. They have evolved to have their young a few weeks before the blackbirds. ( You're probably aware of this fact ) if you watch the sneaky magpies, they Patrol the trees/hedgerows waiting for them to go hunting, then sneak in and desimate the nest. People love 'Maggies'...if they only new.😢. Thanks for sharing 👍.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@GregPodster133 yes, I did know that… I like all birds, but I really can’t stand magpies at all.

[@claireangier3322]

I have, in past year's been able to train my blackbirds to come when I call them. I stay with them until they have eaten which keeps the cats and other birds away.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@claireangier3322 that’s so cool!… I didn’t know they could do that.. well done

[@Richard-zg9kp]

Sparrow hawks takes loads of birds, from Robins blackbirds, any think, hunting at all times of day, they know where all the bird feeders are and attack from all directions.

[@norfener]

Last year our back garden blackbird used to stand on the wheelie bin outside my kitchen window demanding suet pellets and mealworms. This year they're all gone. A month or so I was shocked to see a sparrow hawk in my back garden - I live in the edges of a small rural town and my back garden is quite enclosed. Last year the blackbirds were always there. This year no more.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@norfener it saddens me to hear this but it seems to be a very familiar story for a lot of people. I’ll have all my birds sparrows even magpies but it does seem that the small bird population is rather depleted and only going in one direction.

[@johnmorgan7989]

True, I'm from Preston in lancashire and come to think about it I haven't seen many at all this year

[@bstrippy1664]

@@johnmorgan7989 same here… I always have a pair in my garden and I mean always!… but I haven’t seen them for ages now. 😒

[@johnmorgan7989]

@@bstrippy1664 Yeah, its funny they're always there and you don't really notice when they're not any more till somebody asks you when the last time you saw one was. I'm the same age as you and like you say birds that were really common then just aren't around now and visa versa. Up here buzzards and absolutely everywhere. In fact its more common to here the cry of a buzzard that a blackbird's song. Never saw them as a kid. Kestrels were everywhere though. A much rarer sighting now.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@johnmorgan7989 totally…. We do have buzzards and red kites but not in massive numbers but you will see one or the other pretty much every day sparrowhawks are more common again probably once every other day if I’m at home but normal common garden birds such as blackbirds Sparrows are much rarer and magpies are probably the most common bird in my area currently.

[@johnmorgan7989]

@@bstrippy1664 No kites at all up here and sparrow hawks are a very rare sighting. Magpies definitely on the up though. Never a day will go by without seeing them. I have seen sparrow numbers go up in recent years but nothing like they use to be when I was a kid.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@johnmorgan7989 sparrows are on the up here as well… which is good.

[@dustinfisher29]

Hey and hello from over in Hamburg/ Germany. There is the Usutu-virus going through and it es hits blackbirds very hard.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@dustinfisher29 Hi there…I am new to this virus … I have only heard about it today ,so I will research it when I get home… it does sound worrying.

[@edwardbernthal160]

I Live in Denmark South Jutland and hope to goodness you haven't got what we have here. Usutu desease, it is spread by mosquitos and it has killed off all our Blackbirds, I kid you not. The last Blackbird I head was on the 15th of September, heart breaking.

[@bstrippy1664]

No way!…. That sounds awful!!.😩…. I really don’t want that to happen!

[@edwardbernthal160]

@@bstrippy1664 it is happening, I just looked it up, Usutu desease has been in the South for a while. Heart breaking isn't, unbelievable. I see I have upset one of your subscibers, sorry about that but I say what I feel. Best wishes.

[@BarrioBarranco1]

My missus spends a fortune on bird food, here in the highlands we get woodpeckers, and all the wee birds but this food also attracts the neighbours bloody cats that eat it and will try for the birds too, there's pigeons and pheasants and even badgers now that come for it at night so she has to bring the trays in, and the sparrowhawks treat it like a drive through swooping in and taking them, and that doesn't include the ones that fly into our patio doors and stun or kill themselves.... she's been away for the last week to a wedding and I've not put anything out. I still think that if there's snow then yes, but otherwise let them fend for themselves...Feeding them is a double edged sword, helps some but encourages losses too.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@BarrioBarranco1 I spend lots of money on food for the birds as well, which most of it gets eaten by the pigeons and the magpies😁

[@misterbojangles07]

Not seen a sparrow in years,as someone said,you only see Magpies,crows,ravens and rooks,oh and shitehawks (pigeons)

[@bstrippy1664]

@@misterbojangles07 plenty of shitehawks round my way!..😂

[@pixie706]

Best time of day to see them is at first light .They are moulting and tend to hide and then get terratorial about xmas time. I put a small amount of food on the ground and a hen blackbird comes at dawn she has been coming for years.

[@bstrippy1664]

Thanks for that. I’ve had the odd couple appear since making the video but still low on numbers hopefully they will return.

[@ancientruby7116]

I think a big decline in them. I live in a country village where we have all sorts of birds but sparrow hawks are often here killing whatever they can catch daily. I often hear in the spring the warning sounds from blackbird trying to protect her young from gangs of magpies taking them. Cats also are a main problem here. Recently we had a large Eagle which truly was a surprise. All cats need to wear collars or like dogs be kept indoors to help the population of birds. Makes me sad to see so many being killed.

[@BeneathTheGold]

“..birds that weren’t common years ago are more so now and birds that were pretty common are not so common..” I am seeing this in Scotland also. Bird of prey numbers are well up while things like greenfinches, sparrows both hedge and house, thrushes, black birds, and things like redpolls, siskins etc have become quite scarce in my area. The birds of prey numbers are up most likely because their numbers are just naturally recovering since the banning of DDT and the persecution of birds of prey from gamekeepers etc not being as intense as it once was. As a kid peregrine falcons were practically non existed even in prime countryside locations. Now there are so many of them you can find em breeding in most towns and cities with tall enough buildings. All owl species numbers are up. As are harriers, hawks, kites, eagles etc.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@BeneathTheGold wow, I want to move and live near!… it sounds like you have a lot of variety there unlike here just the mundane birds that you see every day!

[@Ginge2714]

Plenty species in my garden. All varietys. More every yr... Sunflower heads brings them in

[@bstrippy1664]

@@Ginge2714 good to know that is… where abouts in the uk are you out of interest?

[@Ginge2714]

@@bstrippy1664 north east coast line. we get all finches and tits, house sparrows starlings, blackbirds crows woodpeckers, yellow hammers, you name it we have it

[@ivadenuff1029]

So sad. I've noticed too. We do have more sparrow hawks in the local park too. But I read that European mosquitoes have brought avian malaria to UK too. This could be another reason

[@bstrippy1664]

@@ivadenuff1029 that’s definitely not going to help either!

[@andy-the-gardener]

nah, its all humans. never seen a sparrowhawk driving a car, heating its house, eating factory farmed beef or flying to australia on an easyjet [why not].

[@anthonystorey2953]

After some " organisation " cleared the piece of waste ground next to our garden, cut down trees and so on our bird feeders remain full , and bird bath unused, prior to that we had noticed a maked reduction of birds in the area , so why and what is the cause of this decline? Surely not dear little kitty !

[@bstrippy1664]

Defo not cats… it’s us I think 🤔

[@andy-the-gardener]

blackbirds are fine. greenfinches and chaffinches have seen massive declines though. sparrowhawks are definitely not the reason as their populations are low, and stable, and determined by prey availability. they very obvious though as they have to work very hard for a meal. the fortunes of birds, good or bad are generally totally human related. even , as with the raven and buzzard, we just stop poisoning and shooting them.

[@JohnBooth-bl3rh]

Grey squirrels have wiped out the thrushes and blackbirds they eat the chicks in their nests. Wrens, chaffinch etc

[@PaulMercer-k7n]

Sparrow hawks are now devastating to the bird population all ways round the gardens haven't seen a black bird for a long time

[@bstrippy1664]

@@PaulMercer-k7n such a shame isn’t it?…. Unfortunately, it’s just nature hard to see it happen, but I do love all birds.

[@stefgarvie6427]

Plenty in Scotland Fife

[@stefgarvie6427]

Magpies are a problem though

[@Dusty357]

A haven't seen many blackbirds this year either , also hardly any swallows this year , starlings we had a massive colony of them here but have noticed the last few weeks the is barely half the amount you would see when they gather to roost , we have some canny size flocks of goldfinches here... sparrows not many at all , lots of crows magpies . Am in North Northumberland.

[@bstrippy1664]

@@Dusty357 that does sound very similar to hear apart from the swallows because I’m in a more built-up area although they are around not far from me but not directly where I live same with the goldfinches to get quite a few flocks come through every day pretty much but yes, the blackbird situation I do believe they’ll be back but it is on the concerning side a bit

[@fatbobandy9670]

Covid cats mate .

[@rb9580]

Yep! It's at the stage when the baby blackbirds have left the nest, but not yet properly flying. They hop around the garden with a lot less fear than they need. Every spring there is a two or three-week period where I'm constantly alerted by the alarm call of the parent blackbirds and know that I need to go out and shoo-off one of the neighbouring cats. To be fair, though, I often find that there is a cat sleeping peacefully in the sun and it is the baby blackbird that has strayed too close, rather than cats out on the hunt!

[@dorothyorr1537]

help where have all the birds gone ???????????????????? HELP

[@terrymckee]

The park near where I live in Belfast they are rare lots of magpies wood pigeon ordinary pigeons and seagulls and sparrow hawks the seagulls are huge and very aggressive

[@bstrippy1664]

Same here with the seagulls very large and very brave. We seem to have a family of them that have set up camp just behind my house and the magpies wow… their numbers have multiplied massively in recent years around here… ultimately impacting the smaller bird population.

[@oliverhood7856]

I think we should stop feeding the birds. All we are doing is feeding the birds of pray and the cats. We need to keep cats in all the breeding season.

[@edwardbernthal160]

Sorry but this is a ridiculous comment, feeding birds is recomended by the RSPB. Cats have been around for as long as birds,for sure cats kill birds but often only the old and sick ones and you do realize that rats eat eggs and fledlings, As for birds of prey, what do you expect them to eat, burgers? Birds of prey take rats, snakes, weazels, Stoats etc so probably save more song birds than they kill.

[@oliverhood7856]

Edward just shut up. The domesticated cat is man-made, not natural . Concentrating birds around a feeder is just helping the cats out.

[@edwardbernthal160]

@@oliverhood7856 love your rudness. There were cats in the British Isles way before cats were domesticated. still are some, despite our best efforts. I think you will find that it the things we humans do that have the greatest effect on birdlife, shall we do away with cats and let the real destroyers live.

[@oliverhood7856]

Wild cats need a few hundred hectares of land. That is one cat. A football pitch is 0.607 of a hectare. How many human created cats are there in an average town? Yes, cats need to be controlled .

[@edwardbernthal160]

@@oliverhood7856 yes cats do need controlling but they are not public enemy #1 for birds. If you want to save birds then knee jerk populist cat calling is your wrong target.

[@Richard-zg9kp]

Sparrow hawks takes loads of birds, from Robins blackbirds, any think, hunting at all times of day, they know where all the bird feeders are and attack from all directions.