RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2023

Quite Beautiful

Watching the antics of garden birds is always fun, a good way to spend time on a cold winter day. Great then that this humble pastime can be used for positive gain and become part of a nationwide citizen science project. The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is just that, perhaps the most popular and well known such activity in the country. I always take part, and this year managed to record 42 individuals of 16 species.

I thought I would compare the results of this 2023 survey with that of 2005 (the earliest record I have).

                                    2005 List                                2023 List

Blackbird                    5 (3 males 2 females)              5 (3 males, 2 females)

Blue Tit                       3                                              2

Chaffinch                    2                                              1

Coal Tit                       1                                               0

Collared Dove            2                                              3

Dunnock                     2                                              3

Great Tit                      2                                             2

Greenfinch                  5                                             8

Goldfinch                    0                                             4

House Sparrow          15                                            0

Long-tailed Tit            2                                             0

Magpie                         1                                             2

Robin                           1                                              1

Starling                        8                                             1

Woodpigeon               2                                             4

Redwing                      2                                             0

Wren                            1                                             1

Song Thrush               1                                             0

Blackcap                     0                                             2

Carrion Crow             0                                             1

Jackdaw                      0                                             2

Totals                         55/17                                       42/16

So what conclusions can we draw from this? In overall terms the picture is quite stable, look at Blackbirds for example. However, I've highlighted in red the most obvious absences or notable decreases (the others are simple day by day anomalies). No real surprises, rather an affirmation of declines already well documented. House Sparrows are now totally absent and have been for well over a decade. There was a regular flock of up to 20 chirping away in the garden hedge until we were forced to cut back an invading guelder rose. The sparrows disappeared and have never returned. Similarly Starlings, a once common visitor, are now just the opposite, although breeding numbers appear stable. So sad that the Song Thrush, again a once regular feature, has now evaporated entirely with none being seen in the garden for well over a decade.

It's not all bad news though. I've highlighted in green those species that seem to have profited from the conditions pertaining in 2023. Goldfinches are the most obvious addition, and we regularly have a small flock around the feeders or in the alder tree. Their tinkling notes are a pleasant, ever present background noise. Corvids are doing well (but interestingly don't seem to be having much effect on the populations of the other birds), with Magpies, Carrion Crows and Jackdaws always around. Jays were once present, but they seem to have disappeared recently - local hiccup or something more systemic? And then those Blackcaps which appear now every winter. These are birds from Northern Europe that choose to overwinter here in the UK instead of flying south to Africa. They prosper because we feed them, enabling them to return earlier to their breeding grounds, select prime territories and raise more young. These offspring are genetically programmed to follow in the adult footsteps and so spend their winters here as well. And so it goes on. Lovely to see them, and long may they find a safe haven amongst our shrubs.

Greenfinches Are Good Value in Photographic Terms

The Male Blackcap is Quite Aggressive