Britain's Garden Birds Last Winter

News from the BTO
29th October 1996

One of the long-running surveys undertaken by the British Trust for Ornithology involves members in detailed recording of birds in their gardens. In the latest issue of BTO News (205), David Glue contrasts last winter, 1995/96, with the previous winter.

The only species to come into the top 12 species was Song Thrush with the Magpie displaced to 13. Once more BlueTit was the only species found in all gardens (246) surveyed.

Many species were less common in the gardens during last winter than the previous year as the natural food supply was excellent in 1995/96. They were Coal Tit (down to 79% of gardens from 88%, Siskin (36% from 59%) and Brambling (15% from 21%). The last two may well have not reached Southern Britain from the Continent, and in the case of the Siskin, from Scotland. However the cold weather last winter meant that several species were much more frequent in gardens than the previous winter.

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