Press Releases - Sept/Oct 2005 - Item 6

No. 2005/10/32
20 October 2005

Magpies 11th in the table!

The avian emblem of the Northeast, the Magpie, is the 11th most commonly recorded bird in the region but who’s in the top ten? The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch survey, now in its 11th year, has been keeping a close eye on the comings and goings of Britain’s garden birds. The next step is to look at a local level so we can see which birds are doing best in different parts of the region. The BTO needs more garden owners to help record birds in private gardens around the northeast.

Birds are everywhere, but our first daily contact with them is usually over our mug of morning tea as we look out into our gardens. These spaces provide a valuable habitat, not only for birds but also for a wealth of other wildlife. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch survey has been monitoring the use of gardens by birds for over a decade and has built up a fantastic nationwide picture of what is going on. We need your help to turn the focus towards what is happening at the local level so we can look for differences within and between regions.

“We need more people in the Northeast to record the birds that visit their gardens and we would like to double the number of participants that we currently have in the region. It is a great way to take part in an interesting survey and to contribute, along with thousands of others, to an important monitoring scheme” says Mike Toms, Garden BirdWatch Organiser.

“The Northeast is a remarkable place for birds with a diverse range of habitats. So much so, that the latest issue of the BTO’s Garden BirdWatch magazine, Bird Table, features an article focussing on Northumberland. It would be great to have more information on what is happening within the region so that we can look for differences between rural and urban gardens” Mike adds.

The BTO scheme needs people in the northeast to record the occurrence of birds in their gardens. It has been running its Garden BirdWatch survey since 1995 and has highlighted changes in the use of the nation’s gardens by different bird species. Some 221 participants currently take part in Garden BirdWatch in the northeast and send in simple weekly records of the bird species using their gardens. To receive a free information pack, phone on 01842 750050 or write to GBW, Room 32, British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk IP24 2PU.

Notes for Editors

1) The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 16,500 people take part in the project with 221 in the northeast. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is funded by participants’ contributions and supported by CJ WildBird Foods Ltd and is the largest year round survey of garden birds anywhere in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw

2) Colour photographs. Images of garden birds are freely available for use in association with this press release. Please contact to request an electronic version.

3) Bird Table Magazine. Bird Table magazine is published quarterly and sent free to all BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatchers. An annual subscription to the project costs just £12 and all new joiners will receive a free copy of the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Book (which normally retails for £9.99). An electronic version of the Bird Table article on Northumberland are available for Editors and can be requested from

4) CJ WildBird Foods. CJ WildBird Foods is Europe’s leading supplier of bird food and bird feeding products. CJ WildBird Foods has been responsible for a number of significant developments within the bird food and feeding industry, including the introduction of black sunflower seeds to the UK as a major new bird food and the development of specialist seed mixes for use in tubular feeders. The company has also been supporting research into the changing fortunes of garden bird populations, most notably through the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch.

5) The top 10 garden species in the Northeast and the percentage of gardens in which they are recorded.

6) The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Martin Fowlie or Mike Toms
on 01842 750050 or email (during office hours)

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