I need to apologise to you all for being late this month with my diary.
From being reduced in numbers for some weeks, the birds have suddenly started to reappear on the bird table. The reasons for this absence, which happens at this time every year, are not at all clear to me, though I can hazard a guess or two. The abundance of wild foods in the fields and hedgerows will be one reason. It is a certainty that the foods we provide will always be poor substitutes for those sought out and gathered by the birds themselves. This is not a reason for ceasing to put out foods for them at this or any other time. Far from it, as there are times when they will be relying almost completely on what we provide. I remember in the dreadful far-off winter of 1963, Professor Gordon Manley estimated that those who kept a well-stocked bird table were responsible for keeping some 3 million birds alive. And far fewer of us fed birds at that time than do so today. Also there was nothing like the range of foods that we are able to buy today.
Another reason for birds’ failure to visit could be that many of them have been through the trauma of the annual moult, in which their entire complement of feathers has been shed in favour of a brand new set. One expert has likened this to you and I having to go through an annual six-weeks long bout of ‘flu. No wonder they don’t feel much like gorging at the bird table!
The important thing to remember is to maintain a constant, year-round supply of food and water, adjusted seasonally according to their needs. Its surprising how many folk go off for an extended winter break, and forget to make arrangements for someone, perhaps a neighbour, to top up their feeding station whilst they are away. When you see that the birds are visiting less often it is easy to tail off the supply until the rate of feeding picks up again. Right now few wholemeal bread scraps are being taken from my bird-table, but I note that the gang of local Starlings have started to show renewed interest. Incidentally the numbers of this species visiting my garden over the past year or so seem to have fallen. Could this be a reflection of the national trend of declining numbers, which has seen the Starling added to the official list of ‘Birds of Conservation Concern’?
The Chaffinches and the various tits are back with a vengeance. Could it be that I will be honoured with the presence of Bramblings for the third winter in a row? I do hope so. This also apparently reflects a national trend. If so there will no doubt be the usual punch-ups between them and their close cousins the Chaffinches, as they argue amid a flurry of wings over their places at the feeders. And what about the long-tailed tits? They are also increasingly turning to garden feeders to augment their winter food supply. For the past two winters the local flock has come down to the feeders to see what all the fuss is about, but I have yet to see them actually on the feeders. Perhaps it will be this winter! I’ll keep you posted.