Wildlife Gardening - Green Gardening Guide » garden birds

Disease threatens garden birds

Alan — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 02:37:31 +0000

The public is being urged by conservationists to help with tracking a spreading bird disease that in recent years has taken a hold of many garden birds, and particularly the Great Tits, which are being spotted with lesions that are caused by the disease.

The first case of British avian pox was confirmed by scientists in 2006, prior to that the virus was only found in birds in Austria, Slovakia, Scandinavia and the Czech Republic. The pox virus, last year, reached Oxfordshire in Wytham Woods that has a Great Tit population that scientists have monitored since 1947, and is the longest running study in the world of its kind.

When the disease was first detected many were very concerned, said Edward Grey Institute’s Ben Sheldon. Avian pox produces tumour-like, warty growths in birds close to their beak and eyes. It has an effect on a number of British birds like the House Sparrow, Dunnock, Wood Pigeon and Starling, but it affects the Great Tit worst of all.

London’s Zoological Society’s wildlife vet Becki Lawson said that on the Great Tits the lesions can be much more severe that with other species. They appear most commonly on the head and are quite large, but also can be seen on other parts of the bird’s body.

It is unknown as to whether or not the infections are lethal but nonetheless they affect the bird’s vision and ability to fly meaning they are more prone to be victims of their predators. The virus is spread via direct contact between individual birds or through insect bites and through indirect connect at places like bird feeders or perches. Work is being done to try and isolate the avian pox virus.

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Rare birds appearing in many gardens

Alan — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 01:16:45 +0000

Three birds are causing a stir amongst twitchers as their sightings in gardens have reached record levels. The birds in question are the goldfinch, Bullfinch and the Reed Bunting. Other species have also been seen in gardens far more than usual, mainly due to the freezing winter conditions eliminating their natural sources of wild food.

As last year ended with a bitterly cold December, the coldest in 100 years and carried on to the make it the coldest winter since the 1980′s, the berries and seeds which these birds normally feed on simply weren’t accessible to them. In order to survive, they had to head for gardens, where they fed on the high energy and oil rich food which householders left out for them.

For some, however, this move from the countryside to gardens seems to be a permanent move. For others, it is likely to be just their way of surviving the wintry conditions. The Goldfinch and Bullfinch seem to be two of the species to make the permanent move, as sighting are still high, despite the much improved conditions.

The British Trust for Ornithology has released these findings, which come from a major monitoring project. They recorded bird numbers across the UK at over 15,000 different locations. The clear winner, which had the largest increase in sightings, was the Reed bunting. This is thought of as a very shy bird, who prefers remote farmlands to anywhere with people.

The downside of the winter is that a great many of our smaller birds, such as Wrens, were virtually wiped out in some parts of the country. The biggest loser was the little Goldcrest. They weigh in less than a 10p piece, at only 6g, and have no substance to fight the off the cold.

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RSPB says bird feeders are the ultimate bird attractor

Alan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:56:18 +0000

People that want to see more birds enter their garden may want to think about installing a few feeders as part of an easy DIY project.

Wildlife advisor for the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds), Kirsi Peck, stated that a simple addition such as two to three feeders can increase the amount of birds that come into a garden.

Peck added however that feeders need to be spread throughout a garden so that the birds are not too close to each other and need to be regularly cleaned so that viral or bacterial infections do not crop up.

She also referenced the fact that most people would not eat off of dirty dishware, so why would you expect a bird to do the same.

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Bird bath disease killing off garden birds

Alan — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 02:05:42 +0000

A disease that has wrecked havoc on over half a million of the UK’s birds is being spread via bird baths and feeders it has been discovered.

Gardeners may actually be aiding the spread of the disease because infected bird baths and dirty feeders help the Trichomonas gallinae bacteria to spread. The bacteria cause’s birds’ throats to swell closed causing them to starve since they can no longer swallow.

Greenfinches in particular have been affected in Central England with almost a third of the population dying from bacterial infection this year. Chaffinches have also been affected losing a fifth of their population over the course of the year. A few isolated cases have also involved common garden birds such as sparrowhawks.

British Trust for Ornithology member, Mikle Toms, stated that the organization estimates that almost a half a million birds have been lost from the infection which has not occurred before.

Toms emphasized that proper cleanliness is the key to preventing the spread of the bacteria which includes washing out bird baths and feeders every other week if they are feeding birds. He added that if there are any signs of infection in the garden, such as the discovery of several dead birds in a short period of time gardeners should stop feeding birds.

It is believed that wood pigeons that have been forced into gardens in search of new food sources due to the changes in farming may be spreading the parasite.

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Big freeze afects garden bird numbers

Alan — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 04:48:27 +0000

As a result of the freeze during last winter the RSPB has reported that the amount of small birds such as goldcrests and coal tits has fallen.

According to the charity’s yearly Big Garden Birdwatch, the numbers of goldcrests fell by 75% and coal tit numbers fell by 20%.
However, the icy weather may have caused less people to see the birds which could throw off the numbers slightly as well.
The count took place over January 30th and 31st and recorded about 8.5m birds composed of 73 different species in about 280,000 UK gardens.

According to January’s court, long tailed tits fell by 27% even though they still made it into the top ten most spotted garden birds.
However there was a rise in common countryside birds such as yellowhammers, fieldfares, bullfinches, and redwings. Usually these birds are found in hedgerows, fields, and farmland trees.

Also seen in larger numbers were mistle thrushes and song thrushes.

Sarah Kelly, the Big Garden Birdwatch co-coordinator, stated that they are mostly concerned about the survival of small birds throughout winter asking that people ensure that they have access to feed and fresh water in gardens.
The RSPB also report that more blackcaps survived the cold then were expects probably because the breed has adjusted their feeding behavior to include feeder food.

The charity organization stated that while the top ten remains mostly the same this year compared to 2009, the most common species in Britain are facing a long term decline.

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How to encourage birds to visit your garden

Alan — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 09:27:17 +0000

While there are some garden visitors such as hedgehogs, ladybirds, and bees that are usually welcome, it is hard to say for sure whether birds are a welcome addition or not.

This is due to the fact that there are some birds that can rip a garden apart while other birds help control the growth rate of pests.

Of course, there is the underlying fact that birds are simply pretty to look at. All factors considered, they are usually welcome guests, which is why it may be helpful to learn about how you can encourage birds to stop by your garden more often.

In the past it was thought that birds only need to be fed during the winter time, but now experts recommend that you should put food out at all times of the year because it will encourage them to stop by.

In terms of the type of feed you leave out it is best to keep it simple with a mix that has husk free oats, sunflower seeds, hemp, and canary seed. The easiest and cheapest type of food product is a stylish egg porcelain feeder that can be tossed into your garden.

Along with food, you also will need to provide birds with unfrozen clean water to bath and drink in if you want them to stop by on a regular basis. According to the RSPB, the proper amount of water is between 2.5cm to 10cm so that all types of birds have enough room to bathe.

A flat stone or two can also help birds easily get in and out of your bathe. Stone baths are common although they are a bit pricey and birds will not mind if your bath is as simple as a dustbin lid that is pushed into the soil.

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