Where have all the birds gone?

[Dave in Wales]

OK, I know I'm a novice birder but there seems to be a shortage of birds, in my area any way.

From my garden to park, river and where we went today...the Cors Caron Nature Reserve.

Hardly a feathered friend in sight, a buzzard, two crows, four female mallard, a grey heron in the far distance and a 'partridge-in-a-pear tr......

It's never been like this before, a twitcher I bumped into said this year is the worst he's ever known it.

The 100-400 didn't go to waste, I shot other stuff.....that IS just one fabulous lens.

[Olybirder]

July usually is a quiet time for birds. Many of them have finished breeding and are moulting and building up their strength again, so they keep a low profile. However on the one occasion that I have been out to look for them at a nature reserve this year it seemed even quieter than usual so there was very little for me to photograph. Things seem to be quiet in the garden too. I am not sure why.

Ron

[wornish]

We have a brand new family who arrived a few weeks ago not seen them here before.
A Pied Wagtail was out today with its new prodigy teaching it where to get the insects on our lawn.

Pigeons are everywhere and our resident three Hawks (Mum / Dad plus this years junior) are doing their best to keep the population down. Dad Hawk took out a fully grown rabbit this week before I accidentally disturbed it. Rabbit now removed - yuk.

My pal the Robin is always with me hoping to get some unsuspecting insect or a worm.


Not really seen a shortage of birds TBH.

[blackfox]

Everything’s a few weeks behind Dave , went out to a few normally hot spots with the wife yesterday ( her with hearing and eyesight like a shithouse rat) she got four butterfly shots I got 6 pics of sparrows . Give it a few weeks

[ronidog]

I thinks it’s a bad year all round mostly caused by the swinging weather. A mixture of heat/ cold extremes and drought/ downpour. Very few insects are around. Which then affects the food web

[Harold Gough]

My experience in recent years is that I mostly see or hear very few birds, unless I include waterfowl, in our local nature reserves (deciduous woods with some heathland).

Harold

[Graham_of_Rainham]

In past years we saw dozens of Ring Neck Parakeets, several at a time. This year there are very few, and the most I have seen together is two.

[Harold Gough]

We seem to have more Robins than for the past couple of years. It's had to count them, because they follow me as I put out food, but I think we now have four in the back garden and two in the front garden, the same as 3-4 years ago.

Harold

[Dave in Wales]

Hello Harold,

When I asked 'Where have all the birds gone' I suppose what I really meant was where have all the smaller common type garden birds gone?

Living as I do on a small estate in deepest rural West Wales that used to be farmland, not crops but sheep and cattle, we still get loads of birds suited to this habitat ie. crows, jackdaws and loads of starlings.

The birds that have gone are the small cuddly ones the garden birds, blackbirds, most robins, chaffinches, tits, finches that sort of stuff.

When we first moved here in 2000 I had to put black bag streamers up into the corners of the roofs to deter the house martins, swallows and swifts.

Over the years they have gradually dwindled in number house martins about two swallows and swifts nil.

As this last group is migratory perhaps the problem lies between here and Africa I believe.

I know the continentals will shoot anything that flies.

Sad.....so sad, the pleasure the wife and I used to get from watching the antics of birds on feeders and tables was immeasurable.

On a brighter note we still see our resident dunnock hopping around the lawn, though rarely.

Kor, nearly forgot, yesterday I did glimpse a solitary pied wagtail.....a real treat.

[MJ224]

Certainly not a good time of year for little birds. I get plenty as I feed them. Blue and great tits are in full feeding mode, House sparrows, 1 or 2 dunnocks feed happily. Occasional Wren, Blackbird, several starlings, chaffinches visit. Loads of Jackdaws, and a few rooks also visit regularly. Blue tits have nest boxes away from the feeding area.

Also swifts, house martins and swallows, their numbers have reduced considerably. I went on holiday to Angers in France several years ago, and the skies were black with swifts. So there are plenty of those, they just don't north enough for us to see...

I think feeding is the key. Good for the birds, and good for us to see them. Can be a little effort, and needs to cleaned up occasionally...

[Dave in Wales]

In the autumn I spent a small fortune on starling proof feeders and a selection of food.

Starlings yes, cuddly little things........zilch, the food uneaten inside.

[MJ224]

Birds attract other birds. So if the starlings have found the feeders, other birds will be attracted too. I find the starlings do a lot of gobbling, but they are not there all of the time, and do give the little birds some space for their BLT

[Ian]

I'm currently spending a small fortune on feed for the birds here at the moment now that goldfinches and bramblings have joined the blue and great tits, chaffinches, and sparrows. I have two fat ball feeders on each side of the house and 2x four fat balls can be demolished in less than two days. Sunflower hearts feeders can be emptied in less than 2 days. Peanut feeders last a bit longer, but not by much. Only the nyjer seed feeder for the goldfinches lasts well, but there are golfdfinches on that now almost all day. I can see two on it now, with one waitng its turn, as write this!

Ian

[Dave in Wales]

Well, go on Ian.........rub-it-in..... why don't-ya 🤣

[Ian]

Well, go on Ian.........rub-it-in..... why don't-ya 🤣

I actually think I've over-done it! It is very rural here, so that helps.

Interestingly, I have yet to see coal tits or ling-tailed tits and dunnocks are quite occasional. Plenty of blackbrds, greenfinches only every now and again. I haven't seen many Jays.

Ian

[Dave in Wales]

I actually think I've over-done it! It is very rural here, so that helps.

Interestingly, I have yet to see coal tits or ling-tailed tits and dunnocks are quite occasional. Plenty of blackbrds, greenfinches only every now and again. I haven't seen many Jays.

Ian

Ling-tailed tits....?......a new one on me, an immigrant from the east I guess 😂

[Ian]

I'm in a hurry today but I'm always making mitsakes!🤣🤣🤣

[Steambuff]

We are still getting plenty of the small 'Cuddly' birds, Blue tits by the dozen, Coal Tit's, Dunnocks, Wrens, Robins (That eat from my wifes hand), Blackbirds etc. and a few I don't reconise yet (Like a long tailed tit) Also the odd Buzzard and Kite nesting nearby.
Yes we do feed them!
We are in Cellan near Lampeter, so not that far from "Dave in Wales"

[MJ224]

I wonder whether you know the Rumbles in Cellan. We have a Toby working as an intern at WWT Llanelli...

[Steambuff]

Name does not ring a bell, we have only been here 2 years, and spent most of that in lockdown!