Save our birds

Save our sparrows

The public did a fantastic job this winter feeding birds and participating in the Big Garden Birdwatch 2010, a major survey organised by The Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB). Yet continued support is needed throughout the year.

More than half a million people in the UK counted the birds in their gardens over the weekend of 30-31 January 2010.
The good news? Many birds were saved from the ravages of this year’s harsh winter by caring members of the public.

The bad news? Many garden bird species in the UK including sparrows and starlings are still in serious decline.

Kelly, the Big Garden Birdwatch Coordinator, believes that many birds survived only because they were being fed.
‘We were particularly concerned for small birds over the winter, asking people to make sure they kept feeders topped up and supplied with fresh water to help them,’ she commented. ‘These results highlight the importance of feeding and gardening for wildlife, especially during prolonged cold periods.’

Since the annual survey started in 1979, starlings, blackbirds robins and even house sparrows, who top the national and Sussex tables, have shown a continued decline in numbers, partly due to human-driven changes to their habitat such as concreting over gardens for car parking and modern farming methods which preclude plants from going to seed over the winter.

Spring may be here at last but birds still need our help say the experts as food and water shortages can occur at any time of the year. By feeding birds year round the survival chances of adult birds and their young are increased.

5 tips for feeding birds in spring and summer

1. Make sure the birds in your garden always have fresh water to drink and bathe in.

2. In summer, high protein food is needed especially when birds are moulting – so black sunflower seeds, soaked sultanas and raisins, grated cheese, mealworms, soft apples and pears cut in half, grapes and bananas are all good .

3. Never put out loose peanuts, dry hard food, bread chunks or fats in the summer months as these can be lethal if fed to nestlings.

4. As food goes off quickly in warmer weather, clear away anything remaining at the end of the day and adjust the quantity you put out to demand .

5. Clean feeders and bird tables regularly to keep them free from harmful diseases like trichomoniasis which can kill greenfinches.

Source: RSPB