Hangry* birds – don’t forget to fill up those feeders

Maghull Starling - Emma Hartley

*Adjective - (Humorous) irritable as a result of feeling hungry - Collins English Dictionary

An RSPB member was served up a treat of her own after snapping a flock of hungry juvenile starlings on her bird table demanding more food after being treated to a mid-morning snack. 

Emma Hartley, who managed to rustle up some extra treats for her adoring crowd in her garden in Maghull, Merseyside, said: “I’d only just got back to the kitchen after topping up the bird table and feeders when the flock of juvenile starlings swooped down to tuck into their mid-morning treat. The food couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of minutes before they’d finished and were squabbling amongst themselves demanding more!

“Luckily I quickly managed to find a bit of dried fruit and some leftover cheese, which needless to say went down a treat.”

Despite remaining the second most spotted bird in the 2015 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, sightings of starlings in  gardens has declined by 80 per cent since 1979 and are UK ‘red listed’; meaning that they are of highest conservation concern.

Ben Andrew, RSPB Wildlife Advisor, said: “Starlings are very bold and boisterous birds, one that most people will have spotted in their gardens or in an outdoor space. It may therefore come as a surprise to know that starlings have declined quite significantly over the past 30 years.

Hangry Starling

“Leaving out a suitable supply of food and water will not only help starlings and their young prepare for the cold months, but will also help many of our other favourite garden birds.”

Despite it being mid-August, birds in and around our gardens, including favourite like robins and blackbirds, are still incubating eggs, feeding chicks in the nest or have vulnerable just-fledged chicks that can’t yet fly properly. With some birds nesting up until the end of August, it’s important that garden clearance is delayed until September at the earliest.

Birds will appreciate a variety of food all year round, but fatty food will be especially helpful. For example, fat balls, or homemade bird cakes made with lard and packed with seeds, fruit or dried mealworms are great treats to put out in your garden. Kitchen scraps will work well, and a good recipe for feeding birds might include chopped fat from unsalted meat, cheese, dried fruit, and pastry.  

The RSPB’s Giving Nature a Home campaign is aimed at tackling the housing crisis facing the UK’s threatened wildlife. The charity is asking people to provide a place for wildlife in their own gardens and outside spaces – whether it’s putting up a nest box for birds, creating a pond to support a number of different species or building a home for a hedgehog.

To find out how you can give nature a home where you live visit: rspb.org.uk/homes  

http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/liverpool

http://www.rspb.org.uk/groups/Liverpool/join/

Early results show Merseyside's birds are in trouble

Merseyside gardens vital for some of our most threatened birds

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch results 2013

Some of the UK s most threatened and best-loved bird species are

continuing to decline in Merseyside, according to results from the

RSPB s annual Big Garden Birdwatch survey 2013, released today

[Thursday 28 March, 2013].

Starlings, a UK  red-listed  species meaning it is of the highest

conservation concern, hit an all-time low in the Birdwatch last year

and their numbers dropped a further 19% in Merseyside gardens this

year.

Numbers of house sparrows, also on the red-list, dropped by 20% in

Merseyside gardens compared to 2012, whilst bullfinches and dunnocks,

both amber-listed, fell by 43% per cent and 17% respectively.

Martin Harper, RSPB Conservation Director, said;  We know from the many

people who take part in Big Garden Birdwatch every year that garden

birds are incredibly precious to us  and connect us to nature every

day.  I had the joy of doing the Birdwatch with my children again this

year and, fidgeting aside, it was one of those memorable mornings when

the family is captivated by nature.  But, several of our familiar and

best-loved species have been declining at alarming rates over the 34

years that the RSPB has been running the Birdwatch and this year s

results show a continuing decline. 

 We go to great lengths to ensure that special UK habitats are given

the right levels of designation and legal protection because of their

role in supporting threatened wildlife, but what s very clear is that

every one of our gardens, the places literally on our doorsteps, are

important too.

Almost 590,000 people across the UK, including 75,000 pupils and

teachers at schools, took part in the Birdwatch in January. In

Merseyside nearly 6,000 people participated in the survey.  

Whilst the decline of some species continued, others fared better with

garden sightings of siskins and fieldfares up in Merseyside gardens. 

The cold, harsh conditions in the wider countryside back in January is

likely to have driven more of these birds into gardens on their search

for food.

Martin continued;  Gardens make up around 4 per cent of land area in

the UK and their role as habitats for our wildlife is clear.  They are

the places that birds come to for food and shelter when conditions in

the countryside are especially tough and together, we can all play a

part in making them more welcoming and supportive for wildlife, whether

we have a garden full of greenery, a yard or a window box.

Do something now to help the wildlife in your garden, find out how at

www.rspb.org.uk/hfw 

Visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch and www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch to

find out more about Big Garden Birdwatch.

The RSPB s Big Garden Birdwatch is the world s biggest wildlife survey

with half a million people taking part each year.  Running for 34 years

the survey has made a major contribution to tracking garden bird

numbers over the winter www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

This table shows the top 10 birds seen in Merseyside gardens in 2013.

Species

Average number per garden

1. Blackbird

2.68

2. House Sparrow

2.58

3. Starling

2.50

  

4. Blue Tit

2.10

  

5. Woodpigeon

1.90

  

6. Goldfinch

1.71

  

7. Collared Dove

1.32

  

8. Magpie

1.28

  

9.Robin

1.20

  

10. Feral pigeon

1.20

The RSPB speaks out for birds and wildlife, tackling the problems that

threaten our environment. Nature is amazing - help us keep it that way

www.rspb.org.uk

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a registered

charity: England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no. SC037654

Where have all the Starlings gone?

Keith's been making friends..

You don`t see many Starlings these days according to the RSPB, well I've seen many of them recently at the Coast Guard Station at Crosby.They will land on your hand if you tempt them enough,quite a buzz.
Keith

I still get some in the garden, not the bigger flocks of old though. I  try and make sure they get a share of the live mealworms during breeding season to help them along. I’m a Starling fan, love their inquisitive spottiness.  Had a couple of leucistic babies in 2007           http://www.rspbliverpool.org.uk/Nestcam07.htm

I’ve met some  of the Starlings at the coastguard station last year when I was getting signatures for the ‘save our coast guard petition'.  They know where the handouts are.

www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw/gardens-wildlife/garden-birds/a-z-garden-birds/starling

www.bbc.co.uk/nature/17523815

Laura