tawny owls © Darin Smith

Features from Wildlife magazine Wildlife articles 2008 -- Spring 2008 -- ::Severn Barrage ::The Variety of life ::A year at Willsbridge ::Willsbridge comes of age ::Reaching out - Willsbridge ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2007 -- Autumn 2007 -- ::Thinking BIG ::Watery webs:the pond network ::Wildlife in the landscape ::Variety of life ::How to be a climate friend ::Seasonal stroll - Walborough ::Round the reserves -- Summer 2007 -- ::The Folly Farm appeal ::Weston Big Wood-biodiversity at its best ::The variety of life ::How to capture a butterfly ::How to get to know an orchid ::Seasonal stroll - WestonBigWood ::Reserves update -- Spring 2007 -- ::Folly Farm - a very special place ::Making a difference at Folly Farm ::How find the magic at Folly Farm ::Seasonal stroll at Folly Farm ::Magic spots at Folly Farm ::Batscapes ::Climate challenge ::Variety of Life - the Ponways project ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2006 -- Autumn 2006 -- ::The Severn Estuary ::Bird Watch results ::How to identify garden birds ::Making space for wildlife ::How does your garden grow? ::Round the reserves -- Summer 2006 -- ::Going for green ::Stand up and be counted ::Happy birthday NSLMP ::Holi day - a riot of spring colour ::Avon's species-rich grassland ::How to photograph dragonflies ::The Big Switch ::Round the reserves -- Spring 2006 -- ::How to identify winter water birds ::Make 2006 the year you... ::Invasive invasion ::Sowing the seeds: Willsbridge Mill ::Round the reserves Wildlife articles 2005 -- Autumn 2005 -- ::Indentify common funghi ::Build a hedgehog hideaway ::Big Bird Watch ::Champions for wildlife ::Round the reserves ::Seeds of the futre: Willsbridge Mill -- Summer 2005 -- ::Restoring Folly Farm ::How to become bee-friendly ::How to identify the butterflies of spring ::Save our seas ::The variety of life: hedgerows ::Round the reserves ::25 Ways to make a difference -- Spring 2005 -- ::The variety of life: water voles ::The Avon Biodiversity Action Plan ::How to take really good wildlife photos ::How to help your garden grow ::Round the reserves ::Seasonal strolls: Browns Folly ::Sowing the seeds: for wildlife for people ::Sowing the seeds: looking back

The variety of life

Bird Watch, Winter 2005/2006 The results!

Bird Watch has just completed its sixth year, and again we have had an excellent response - over two thousand people in Bristol and the Avon area took part, many of whom have been completing the survey right from the start. This is continuing to build up the excellent picture of what is happening to bird populations both in and around the city and is an important part of our work for the Avon Biodiversity Action Plan.

Bird Watch was established in 2000 to run for ten years to establish the role played by gardens in winter in:

• sustaining bird life
• monitoring population changes
• raising awareness about garden birds
• getting people involved in monitoring their local environment.

Bird Watch is believed to be the most detailed survey of its kind in the country and involves people in monitoring their garden birds over the winter months, from October to March. They are also asked to count the sparrows, starlings and feral pigeons present on the last weekend in each month. These three species were chosen because they have been undergoing rapid population change.

Indicators of biodiversity
Wild birds are good indicators of the broad state of biodiversity because they occupy a wide range of habitats and react rapidly to habitat change. Participation both provides information about the changes in our local habitats, and, by encouraging the feeding of birds, directly helps to sustain their populations.

This years results
A total of 60 species were seen in gardens. In the whole Avon area the best garden had 39 species and the average was 17.
The top ten most frequent birds across the Avon area remained the same as 2004/5, but there have been some changes in position.

Top Ten

Change over time - Good news and bad news
This winter was the coldest since 1996/7 and more species showed a decrease over the previous winter.

• It was a good winter for wood pigeon, blackcap and jay.
• It was a poor one for greenfinch, collared dove, and pied wagtail.

House sparrow, starling and feral pigeon compared with previous year

• House sparrow numbers remain high,
• Starling numbers reached a record low two years ago but are recovering
• Feral pigeon numbers show no change.

Gulls
Gulls are still very uncommon garden visitors, but the numbers are growing. They were present in 10% of gardens, and increasingly coming into gardens to feed off scraps.

Tawny Owls
A new addition to Bird Watch in 2005/06 was the tawny owl which people this time were asked to record if they were heard calling. 135 responses did so, and recorded tawny owls in 95 different 1km squares. There is some concern that Tawny Owl numbers may be in decline, and as they are a difficult species to monitor these are significant results.

Winter havens
Bird Watch also shows that gardens are hugely important to the over-winter survival of bird populations. In winter many birds arrive both from Europe and from further north and east in the UK and our local gardens support almost twice as many species as in summer.

• from abroad - blackcap, redwing and fieldfare.
• from other parts of the UK - blackbird, chaffinch, greenfinch, great tit, starling, song thrush, wood pigeon, siskin, black-headed gull and pied wagtail.

What else you can do...

• Don't just support birds in winter- help in the summer too. Providing food all year round can fill a crucial gap.
• Put up nest boxes to provide extra sites.
• Leave seed heads on plants over winter and encourage invertebrates.
• Garden organically if you can, Don't use insecticide.

Did you know?
An average garden helps to support at least 25 birds a day, which means that at least 100,000 birds are being helped through the winter by garden feeding in this area. The BTO have drawn attention to the goldfinch recovery nationally which they have attributed to garden feeding.

Bird Watch does make a difference!
Bird Watch provides information not available anywhere else. Our house sparrow data has been used by the British Trust for Ornithology in a report to DEFRA and the figures are summarised in the City Council's annual 'Indicators of Quality of Life in Bristol' reports. An Exeter student is doing a three year PhD study on sparrow populations in Bristol because we know so much about the birds in the city.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in 2005. You've helped to make this one of the most extensive and detailed local garden bird surveys in the UK! We hope that many of you will take part again this year. If you have friends or neighbours who would like to join in, contact us for a pack on 0117 917 7270 or email mail@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk

Bird Watch is run by Avon Wildlife Trust in partnership with Bristol Naturalists' Society, Bristol Ornithological Club, and Bristol City Council who sponsored Bird Watch in 2005.

What is the Avon Biodiversity Action Plan?
The Avon BAP identifies what needs to happen for Avon's most valuable habitats and species and for cross-cutting issues such as education over the next
ten years. The main aims are to:

• Champion and promote local biodiversity and its distinctiveness
• Implement actions in order to achieve the objectives and meet the targets outlined in the BAP
• Facilitate communication and sharing of best-practice and skills
• Seek opportunities for joint projects where possible
• Monitor biodiversity and biodiversity action
• Report back annually on its achievements

Further information: contact Lucy Rogers, Biodiversity Development Officer, email lucyrogers@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk or see www.avon-biodiversity.org.uk/