New birds in our gardens. Changing times.

[Sylvia and Mick]

Attached photo of a goldcrest which was feeding on a fatball in our front garden, directly in front of our window today. This is the first time we have seen a goldcrest here.  We have also recently seen two bullfinch in  our tree in the garden and regularly see from our front window a treecreeper on one of the trees in our close, not far from the house.  We have also had the waxwing in the close this winter and two mistle thrush.
We also get a flock of long tailed tits visit the same fatballs, usually about once a week and have a flock of goldfinch in the trees nearby, sometimes visiting our feeders. These are birds only recently starting to visit our garden.  Yet what has happened to the greenfinch which used to come every day, about 30, a few years ago, but we are lucky to see one now.  Our daily visitors are about 36 house sparrows, 2 robins, numerous hedge sparrows and a wren. Blackbirds, Blue tits, coal tits but not so many great tits, woodpigeons the occassional song thrush and collared dove, but even they have declined.  The sparrowhawks are always around and sometimes a tawny heard on an evening nearby.  We also get fox after the fatballs and have seen a weasel on the rockery in the back garden along with plenty of mice!  Have not seen any signs of hedgehogs however this year.

[steveduke]

A different, but related point.  I do the BTO Atlas tetrad around Yearby amongst other places and, both in summer and winter, I have been shocked as I walk from the gardens of the village into the surrounding farmland.  Gardens: House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Robin, Blue, Coal, Great and L-T Tits, Gold, Green and Chaffinches, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Chiffchaff, Swift, Swallow, House Martin.  Farmland (arable and pasture, including substantial hedges): Dunnock, Robin, Black-headed Gull, Carrion Crow, Wood Pigeon, Blackbird, Skylark (only a couple in a big area).  I don't know what the farmer is using on his land, but it's almost dead ground for birds.  Not only numbers of species, but the number of birds of the few species that are there.  I find it all a bit depressing.

[JohnD]

As long as there is food in mygarden, the birds are around: Greenfinch, Chaffinch (with a few Brambling in winter), Goldfich, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Coal Tit etc. However I'm sure that much more passes through - we have had Grey Wag for less than a minute, checking out the small pond, Blackcap, and Bullfinch. Two points firstly they only stop for the food, and secondly I rarely sit and watch for birds in the garden, so it is relatively underwatched!