BirdWatch Ireland is calling on people around the country to take part in this year’s Irish Garden Bird Survey which begins next week.
The survey, now in its 36th year, helps to help monitor the health of the country’s bird populations by people counting the birds visiting their garden over the winter.
Last year’s results revealed a drop in numbers for many garden bird species, a trend which BirdWatch Ireland said is likely linked to unseasonably mild winter conditions.
Garden bird survey
The country’s longest-running citizen science survey will commence on Monday (November 25) and run until the end of February.
BirdWatch Ireland said that taking part is free and simple, yet impactful, as “all participants contribute to a crucial body of data that will help to inform monitoring and research into bird populations and environmental change”.
Over 1,600 households across the country participated in last year’s survey which revealed the robin as Ireland’s top garden bird once again, being present in 96% of gardens.
The blackbird and blue tit followed in second and third place, occurring in 94% and 91% of gardens respectively.
However, all three species appeared in fewer gardens than at any point in the last thirty years due to the mild winter weather conditions, which reduced birds’ need for garden feeders.
Of the top 30 species seen in Irish gardens last winter, 25 occurred in a lower percentage of gardens than the previous winter.
Other species including chaffinch, coal tit and jackdaw were at their lowest occurrence in 30 years, while song thrush and pied wagtail showed a huge drop of 12% since the previous winter.
However, the siskin, bucked this trend, occurring in 41% of gardens compared to 26% the previous year.
BirdWatch Ireland explained that this is largely due to their reliance on alder, birch, spruce and pine tree seeds as a food source.
The greenfinch occurred in 47-48% of gardens in each of the last three winters, which may indicate that rapid declines in the species have stabilised.
Birds
Brian Burke, co-ordinator of the Irish Garden Bird Survey, said that the recent cold conditions are “definitely driving more birds into gardens at the moment”.
“It’ll be interesting to see what the coming weeks bring. The more people who do the survey, the more we can learn about these sorts of links between climate, birds and our environment,” he said.
Burke said as a conservation charity with a small team, BirdWatch Ireland is reliant on members of the public to help gather vital data about Ireland’s many bird species.
Some of last year’s participants reported ringed birds that visited their gardens including a goldfinch discovered in Co. Tipperary that was originally ringed in France, and a redwing found in Co. Carlow that was ringed in England.
The Irish Garden Bird Survey is once again being sponsored by Ballymaloe this year.