Blizzard of birds hits UK’s frozen gardens

COLD COMFORT: Birds are descending on gardens as temperatures plummet

Fieldfares and redwings led charge

February 2012: Huge numbers of birds have swept into gardens over the latest cold spell, according to the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Garden BirdWatch.

Fieldfares and redwings, both migrant thrushes to our shores, have led the charge. Compared with the preceding week - when thousands of people took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch - more than five times as many fieldfares have recently been seen in gardens, and over twice as many redwings.

Thrushes also heading for safety of gardens
The results, collected by participants in the year-round BTO Garden BirdWatch survey, show that numbers of other thrushes, such as song thrush (up 72 per cent), mistle thrush (up 49 per cent), have also increased hugely over the cold spell. Numbers of the familiar blackbird were up by a third. 

Gardens have been inundated across the UK, even where snow has not settled. In south-west England, for instance, where conditions are typically milder than elsewhere, numbers of redwing and fieldfare have rocketed. Here and in Wales, gardens are likely to be providing a refuge for many birds displaced from further north and east.

The exciting activity, featuring notable increases of pied wagtail, woodpigeon, brambling, wren and jay, shows just how much things can change in a week.

The survival of these birds is on a knife-edge
Data collected by BTO volunteers show how sensitive our resident bird populations are to severe winter weather. Last winter's cold snap saw numbers of robins and wrens drop by a third, song thrushes by a quarter and dunnocks by a fifth, compared with the five-year average. Fortunately, many of these losses were offset by a bumper breeding season during 2011 but there are now lots of inexperienced birds out there feeling the cold.

He continued: ‘The survival of these birds is on a knife-edge but there is much that householders can do to help. Peanuts, finely grated cheese and beef suet can provide a calorific hit; windfall or fresh fruit will help sustain thrushes, and sunflower hearts are a particular favourite with finches.'