West bird lovers paradise

Londonderry bird lovers can breathe a sigh of relief as the results of the world's biggest garden bird survey, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, are announced. Because it is fare well rather than farewell to many of our favourite species despite the harshest winter in 40 years. In fact goldfinches and greenfinches actually moved up the rankings of most seen birds. This year more people than ever across the county spent an hour in January counting the birds in their gardens and submitting the results to the RSPB for the Big Garden Birdwatch. Half the responses came from children! The Big Garden Birdwatch provides a mid-winter snapshot of how our garden birds are faring. So what's the picture in Londonderry compared to the rest of Northern Ireland? The results, just in, reveal the important role gardens play in helping birds making it through the harshest winter in 40 years. The food we put out for birds has proven to be a huge factor in helping many of them make it in extremely challenging conditions. This year garden favourites such as finches, starlings and house sparrows prevailed, while more vulnerable smaller species felt the chill. Gardens vital for survival Here, the house sparrow continues to be the most spotted bird, compared to the starling NI-wide, followed by starlings and chaffinches. Goldfinches are fourth ranked, up from 5th in 2009's survey. "This year, more starlings were seen in more gardens," explains Stephanie Sim, RSPB. "The same goes for our blackbird, chaffinch, greenfinches and goldfinch. "This is because gardens, with their proximity to houses are warmer, allowing for better foraging opportunities. Numbers of our larger common garden birds were actually UP, with the smaller ones significantly DOWN." In particular the tiny blue tit, one of our most frequent garden visitors, was hard hit by the chill conditions. This wee mite dropped from 4th most seen to 6th in Londonderry. Other members of the tit family also struggled, with frozen ground and scarce food supplies making life extremely difficult. For instance the usually 6th ranked coal tit dropped to 9th most sighted. However Stephanie is optimistic. "We can take comfort in the fact that, if we have a good spring and summer, many of the survivors will go on to have a few broods and hopefully the population will recover in coming years. "Fortunately the west's greenfinches continue to go from strength to strength and have moved from 11th to 10th place. This bird comes 12th in Northern Ireland as a whole. "Clearly species such as greenfinches, goldfinches, robins, blackbirds and song thrushes were coming to gardens for feeding, and these are often the birds people hope to attract with feeders. Nationally the goldfinch now places fifth, compared to 10th UK-wide. "People adore their goldfinches because they look so striking and exotic, so they put special food out for them. This year though they were really abundant and it isn't unusual to hear people say that they saw dozens on their feeders," said Stephanie. "The harsh winter may have pushed them westwards and of course, we end up with all these gorgeous creatures." Let's hear it for the children The response from young birdspotters bodes well for the future, with half of participants being children. "This rapid growth in interest highlights the increasing popularity of the survey as a family and a schools activity. "Five years ago just over a quarter of the participants were children, but they now form an important part of our survey," said Stephanie. "Research has shown, time and time again, that introducing children to nature at a young age ensures a healthier lifestyle, a greater empathy with their environment and an interest in wildlife. "The RSPB is running its campaign Letter to the Future, which not only asks for funding to protect the environment, but to make sure children have a firsthand experience of nature." To sign up to the Letter to the Future go to www.rspb.org.uk/lettertothefuture.