 |
 |
 |
|
|
Scotland's gardens are a refuge for declining birds The British Trust for Ornithology is seeking people living in Scotland to help with Garden BirdWatch, a long-running project that follows the changing fortunes of garden birds in Scotland. The British Trust for Ornithology’s (BTO) Garden BirdWatch project has been running since 1995. Of its 16,765 participants nationwide, there are currently 977 in Scotland, enabling us to look at the use of gardens by birds nationally, and separately in the north and the south of the country. The latest results from the Garden BirdWatch project suggest that two declining species – the Yellowhammer and the Tree Sparrow – occur more frequently in gardens during winter in Scotland than further south in England. The Yellowhammer has been recorded in 8 to 11% of Scottish gardens but only in 2 to 3% of gardens in England. Over the last two winters, BTO Scotland has been running a project in partnership with Tay and Lothian Ringing Groups to look at the winter movements of seed-eating birds such as Yellowhammer, Tree Sparrow and Chaffinch found feeding on farmland. The movements of these birds in winter have been examined by attaching very small radio-tags and by placing rings on their legs, techniques that do not interfere with the normal behaviour of the birds being followed. The results support those from Garden BirdWatch, showing that farmland populations of these birds readily move into gardens during the winter months to make use of food provided by garden birdwatchers. One male Yellowhammer in particular made a fascinating movement – it was ringed on farmland in the study area near Dunfermline in West Fife and was re-caught six weeks later in a garden in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, having moved 24 km, one of the longest recorded movements for a Yellowhammer in Britain. The average distance recorded for normal Yellowhammer movements is less than 1km. John Calladine, BTO Scotland’s Winter Farmland Ringing Project Officer said “The movement of the Yellowhammer from one of our study areas in Fife to Menstrie demonstrates that this species can be very mobile and is happy to feed in gardens, particularly if favoured foods are provided there, although our study shows that most Yellowhammers do not ordinarily move that far.” Mike Toms, Garden BirdWatch National Organiser said “If we can involve more people in Garden BirdWatch across Scotland, then we will have enough weekly observations to properly monitor the changing status of garden birds within the different parts of the country, particularly species like Yellowhammer that only occur in quite low proportions of gardens but are currently of high conservation concern.” Scottish gardens are
an important habitat for many wild birds and everyone who takes
an interest in the birds that come into their garden could help
the BTO monitor bird populations by joining Garden BirdWatch. Garden
BirdWatch is a unique project, in that it is funded through the
contributions made by those taking part. In return, participants
receive a quarterly colour magazine and all new participants receive
a free 128-page book on garden birds. A free enquiry pack
is available from Garden BirdWatch, BTO Scotland, School of Biological
and Environmental Sciences, Cottrell Building, University of Stirling,
Stirling, FK9 4LA, by phoning 01786-466560 or by emailing gbw@bto.org.
Notes for Editors 1. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run continually throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. For more information : http://www.bto.org/gbw/ 2. Some 977 people
take part in Garden BirdWatch across Scotland and record the birds
using their gardens from week to week – more would be very
welcome. 5. Garden birdwatchers
can discover which birds are likely to be found in their gardens
by visiting www.postcodebirds.bto.org and entering their postcode. CONTACTS Clare Clark / John Calladine / Chris
Wernham (BTO Scotland) Mike Toms (Garden BirdWatch Organiser) Graham Appleton (Press Officer) BTO Digital Image Library |
|
|
|
Garden
BirdWatch | BTO
Home | CJ
WildBird Foods Home |