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Changes in bird populations? (1 Viewer)

Hi Mia and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. Not much change at the moment, except I know hear Chiffchaff all summer... at one time they were completely absent from this are. Common Magpies are also spreading across Scotland.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.
 
Hi Mia,

Welcome.

I've only been birding for about 40 yrs but have seen big changes in that time. Big declines in many finches (particularly Greenfinch and Bullfinch). Growth in raptors - in my childhood it was pretty much restricted to Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, now Buzzards and Red Kites are regularly seen. Little Egrets were a rare vagrant rather than a common breeding bird. Flocks of Lapwings used to be much larger. Some gains and some losses. Chiffchaff now over winter in reasonable numbers where once they'd be a rare stayer.
 
40+ years
Up: Magpie, buzzard, red kite, osprey, little egret, Mediterranean gull, goldfinch
Down: Lapwing, curlew, grey partridge, yellowhammer, house sparrow, tree sparrow, starling, greenfinch, kestrel

I think there are more chiffchaffs and blackcaps over the last 2 or 3 years and maybe less willow warblers.
Cuckoos seem to have become a bit more common lately too but that's just an impression I get.
Kingfisher are more regular now too. (Not had a real hard winter for a few years)
 
Hi there Mia and a warm welcome to you !!

At one point over the years I had a dozen feeders up which greatly improved the bird population in my backyard. But the squirrels kind of ruined that for me as they were destroying feeders to get the seed out of them. When they destroyed a supposedly squirrel free feeder that I spent almost $50. US dollars on, I kind of got fed up and put less feeders out which cut the amount of birds visiting my yard. I did learn that mixing hot red pepper in with the seed helped a great deal in removing the squirrels from the feeders with no harm to the birds. Right now my bird population seems to be doing okay. We'll wait and see ;)
 
Hi Mia,

Welcome.

I've only been birding for about 40 yrs but have seen big changes in that time. Big declines in many finches (particularly Greenfinch and Bullfinch). Growth in raptors - in my childhood it was pretty much restricted to Kestrel and Sparrowhawk, now Buzzards and Red Kites are regularly seen. Little Egrets were a rare vagrant rather than a common breeding bird. Flocks of Lapwings used to be much larger. Some gains and some losses. Chiffchaff now over winter in reasonable numbers where once they'd be a rare stayer.
I have also noticed big declines in many finches lately
 
Interesting - in the UK they've nationally declined significantly Cuckoo decline
There does seem to be a lot of variation. Thirty years ago I heard and saw cuckoos regularly, now I am lucky to hear one...last year I tracked one down, but none so far in 2023. Conversely, in my patch of Hampshire we seem to be bucking the Yellowhammer trend locally as they are very abundant! Sparrows and starlings go up and down, magpies and wppd pigeons every where this year!
 
There does seem to be a lot of variation. Thirty years ago I heard and saw cuckoos regularly, now I am lucky to hear one...last year I tracked one down, but none so far in 2023. Conversely, in my patch of Hampshire we seem to be bucking the Yellowhammer trend locally as they are very abundant! Sparrows and starlings go up and down, magpies and wppd pigeons every where this year!

Yes I think regional variations can play a big part in perceptions. Yellowhammer seem to be recovering on my patch, after several years of steep decline. No real signs of the reported slow recovery of Greenfinch yet - sadly remaining a noteworthy sighting after that terrible crash.
 
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