Birds. Anyone else noticed....

[cee-dee]

Has anyone else noticed a distinct lack of the usual birds?

There doesn't seem to be anything like the number there uses to be.

Also, one thing that stands out is the usual food that birds consume isn't getting eaten.

I noticed that Blackberries are just dropping off the briars (and later on, like last year many will just go to rot) and that applies to wild rasberries too.

There's a Damson tree on a bit of rough ground which is absoluely loaded, branches hanging under the weight of the crop and they're starting to split, they'll be dropping off soon. There's Elder bushes/trees weighed down with elderberries and the usual birds "purple slodges" are not apparent either.

There's all sorts of plants (weeds?) covered in seeds and no birds are taking them so what's going on?

It's been said about many species (not just birds) that the decline in numbers is put down to "loss of habitat" but that surely can't be the case with the birds? There's plenty of food so what gives?

[upthecreekyetagain]

Squirrels, both grey and red will eat bird eggs but likewise hawks, owls and other raptors eat squirrels and their young - so I guess there is a certain synergy aboult nature.

[cee-dee]

Well, whatever predates on Grey Squirrels are having no impact.

At one time there was a cartridge allowance and a tail bounty on Grey Squrrels so when that was done away with, their main predator had been removed!

[saasher2012]

It is known that the Grey squirrel population is out of control,&that even with predation from the top raptors makes very little difference to their numbers, but I think other factors have to be considered, just because the birds nest & lay eggs doesn't mean that the fertility is good or they will have a good hatching, many things can cause this, weather, food quality, age, stress, habitat predation etc.
Some species of birds take years to recover from a bad winter,& although we love the heat in summer for some birds it's very often a killer for their food source at a crucial time for feeding themselves & their young, coupled with that they then cannot build up their fat stores to help them through the winter. In our constant quest to have a weed free spotless garden then that also affects the butterfly & other insect population, the same applies in the countryside with crops the ever increasing push to get a crop harvested & another one in doesn't give the wildlife a chance to complete it's life cycle in time. The Harvest mouse is a prime example of this practise. The food chain is a very fine balance destroying one species can then lead to others being destroyed.

[cee-dee]

An excellent, well thought out post!

I found that some sort of survey had been done about the subject of Grey Squirrels and birds nests where it was claimed that the Grey Squirrel population had little effect on most of the bird numbers. However, they did claim it had an effect on the Blackbird and Long-tailed "word I can't use here" population.

That survey was done in an area with a squirrel density of 6 per hectare. They should have tried it here where you can stand still and see up to a dozen without moving!

I had those long-tailed birds in my wood and one year found their nest "ragged" from below, a situation I put down to Squirrels rather than Jays or other birds as I'd expect the damage to be from above.

[bankhaunter]

In this particular year it may depend where you actually are as the mild winter could mean birds are more spread out not having to feed so much in gardens etc.

That isn't to say that there has not been a general decline in numbers for many years, in some species that decline is quite serious probably the biggest cause is loss of habitat and food supply.

Cleaning up of gardens coupled with changes in farming practice and the greater use of pesticides must have had a dramatic effect.

[rose2008-2008]

Theres LOADS of Squirrels outside my flats. They come scampering across the road to my side and sit on the branches practically waving at me to feed them. They go crazy swinging and jumping about in the trees,,like a lot of lunatics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. There was one chasing some Magpies the other day on the roof opposite. He was having a right old game throwing himself up and twisting around as if he was getting overexcited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Their quite amusing little critters!!!!!!!!!!!!.

[bankhaunter]

I could be wrong but I seem to remember the bounty was removed from squirrel tails because it was seen that they ate a lot of woodpigeon's eggs and squabs.

It's now realised how much damage they do to young hardwoods.