In The Garden
| NORTH YORKSHIRE |  | | | CLEVELAND | | | | COUNTY DURHAM | | |
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Gardeners can help to reverse decline in bird species
IT IS time to fill up the bird
feeders and get out the binoculars
to note which species are
in your garden for the world's
biggest bird survey.
The Big Garden Birdwatch, organised
by the Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds, takes place tomorrow
and on Sunday, when
people are asked to watch the
birds in their garden or local park
for an hour to help learn more
about the birds in this country.
Last January, more than 450,000
people spent an hour watching
their local birds, collectively
recording more than 8.1m in more
than 270,000 gardens.
So, how can you encourage birds
into your garden?
Wildlife expert Tony Soper, author
of the Bird Table Book, a definitive
guide to attracting birds into your
garden, says: "The process starts
with an abundance of greenery,
providing food for insects which
in turn support blue tits, which in
their turn support sparrowhawks.
The very nature of gardening itself,
the process of turning soil
and planting new life, encourages
a particular group of birds - those
which are best able to adapt to
our activities.
"Robins, thrushes, house sparrows,
starlings and dunnocks are
all predisposed to live alongside
us and will soon take advantage of
new housing potential."
Mature gardens, with old trees,
thick hedges and plenty of corners
and crevices, will already be bird
havens. Indeed, the highest bird
density in Britain is found in suburban
gardens and estates, says
Soper. But if you live in a new
house with young saplings and little
attraction for wildlife, a wellstocked
bird table and
drinking/bathing pool should encourage
birds into your plot.
Gardeners should aim to plant
species which allow for maximum
berry, seed, nut and insect production
and provide some cover
and water.
Berried shrubs such as holly, cotoneaster,
berberis and pyracantha,
and trees such as rowan and
crab apple, provide autumn and
winter food as well as spring nesting
sites.
Don't cut off the seed heads on
herbaceous perennials. Autumnflowering
Michaelmas daisies and
rudbeckias should be left alone.
Sunflowers from summer are a
feast for birds. Cut the dried heads
off and hang them from trees in
winter, when they are most needed.
"Make the place an adventure
course for enterprising bird explorers,"
says Soper. This may
mean creating a varied environment
of lawns, rockeries, walls,
miniature hills, streams and
ponds.
Encouraging weeds may go
against the grain, but a wilderness
area in part of a garden attracts
birds. Nettle beds are a haven for
caterpillars and a breeding ground
for insects. The area should have a
dark roosting place and seed-producing
weeds such as knapweed,
teasel and dandelion.
If you invest in a bird table, put it
near dense shrubs, so shy birds
can use it too, and load it with a
selection of tempting bites, from
seed mixes, cheese and fats, to
bacon rind, moist bread and cake.
If you don't have an inviting tree
hollow, put up a nest box, siting it
high in a tree or on a climber covered
wall, safe from disturbances.
Over the years, the RSPB survey
has recorded the huge declines in
some of our most familiar birds.
Since 1979, the number of house
sparrows counted has fallen by 52
per cent and the number of starlings
has also declined.
The results can be used to record
regional differences between birds
in gardens. In 2005, the blue tit
was the second most common
bird recorded in Wales, while
across the whole of the UK the
starling was in second place. Details
of the survey are available on
www.rspb.org.u
Jobs this week
❃ Make sure that tender and halfhardy
fuchsias, remaining dormant
in their pots, do not become
completely dry. Spray early growth
with tepid water.
❃ Tidy borders, clearing them of
weeds and debris; avoid compacting
soil in wet weather by using short pieces of board to walk on.
❃ Order summer-flowering bulbs
and tubers from a reputable supplier;
store in shallow boxes or
trays and keep in a dry, frost-free
place until ready to plant.
1:15pm Friday 25th January 2008
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