SOME bird species in Warwickshire appear to be dwindling.
The results of this year’s Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Big Garden Birdwatch – which sees people spend an hour counting birds in their garden – revealed there were fewer sightings of nearly half of the top 20 species than a decade ago.
The biggest fall was among the greenfinch population which saw less than half the number spotted in 2009.
Sightings of song thrushes, chaffinches, collared doves, dunnocks, starlings and blackbirds were also significantly down on ten years ago.
The January count – the 40th anniversary of the event – saw the house sparrow keep its top spot for sightings in Warwickshire.
Sightings of goldfinches were up significantly, while the number of house sparrows, wood pigeons, magpies, long tailed tits, jackdaws, carrion crows and feral pigeons also rose.
Samantha Lyster, from the RSPB in the Midlands, said: “People are becoming more and more aware of the challenges and threats that our UK wildlife is currently facing.
“Citizen science surveys, such as our Big Garden Birdwatch, really help empower people of all ages and backgrounds to play an active part in conservation, and to speak out for the wildlife they love and want to protect.”
Visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch for more information.
