Where are all the songbirds?

[stroller]

There seem to be very few songbirds around here now, even the sparrows nesting behind my soffit boards have disappeared, and no swifts either for the first time in my lifetime, else noticed similar?

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

There are definitely less small birds but there are also far less insects and bees.
The wet few months caused a decline I believe but something else seems to be happening.
We had a lot of Swifts one day in early June that were feeding over some lakes but then they virtually all disappeared. Swallows have had reasonable breeding success and are now on their third sitting. Although I did see some large groups of Martins and Swallows that were getting ready to depart last week.

There are loads of flies and insects where the cattle are grazing and plenty of dung beetles in the pats. However we are no surrounded by hundreds of acres of derelict land which is just old grass and weeds and there doesn't seem to be anything on this apart from the occasional Buzzard or Kestrel.

Could the decline in livestock numbers and the lack of dung also be a contributory factor?

 

[Working from home]

I'm no wildlife expert but it must be something to do with the lack of insects about. We've hardly had any attatched to the front grill of our car this summer

 

[jondear]

Plenty here all quiet atm
The only bird that sings this time of year is the robin .A sign of winter coming !

 

[Tomo23]

I noted a couple of weeks ago. I like to open the kitchen door in a morning whilst doing my chores and having breakfast. Virtually dead silence bar a few crows.

 

[Poncherello1976]

This was 2 mornings ago. Lots of swallow, and a dove! Mixed farm! Great being able to put a video clip up.

 

[nick...]

Plenty of raptors about here but very few little birds and pretty much zero bees and insects.hardly seen A wasp this year either.don't know what's gonna eat my 40 acres of wild bird seed
Nick...

 

[sjt01]

There seem to be very few songbirds around here now, even the sparrows nesting behind my soffit boards have disappeared, and no swifts either for the first time in my lifetime, else noticed similar?

We have started using a PUC and have recorded over 50 species in the farmhouse garden, and similar numbers around field ponds. The air round the farmyards is full of martins and swallows, and the occasional swift. It is quite rare to see a thrush these days, but they are about as revealed by their song.

These are the most confident identifications near the most recently sampled field pond
Common Wood-Pigeon
Barn Swallow
Carrion Crow
Herring Gull
White Wagtail
Black-headed Gull
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian Blue Tit
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian Jackdaw
Common House-Martin
Gray Heron
European Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Great Tit
European Robin
Mallard
Eurasian Wren
Eurasian Moorhen
Common Buzzard
Eurasian Linnet
Common Swift
Rock Pigeon
Northern Lapwing
Eurasian Coot
Common Chiffchaff
Common Chaffinch
Graylag Goose
Eurasian Curlew
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Dunnock
Canada Goose
European Greenfinch
Common Gull
Common Redshank
Rook
Eurasian Blackcap
Green-winged Teal
Reed Bunting
Ring-necked Pheasant
Greater Whitethroat
Long-tailed Tit
Song Thrush
Eurasian Reed Warbler
Dunlin

 

[Kidds]

I have a sparrowhawk steadily munching his way through them here.

 

[Optimus]

I have a sparrowhawk steadily munching his way through them here.

I was just going to say the same thing.they take everything from finches to pigeons here.

 

[Jackov Altraids]

I was just going to say the same thing.they take everything from finches to pigeons here.

Snap

 

[bluebell]

The general "official" answer is farming and modern agriculture, i think that most of the loss of these birds and hedgehogs, insects, grass hoppers etc etc is the development and increase in cars, traffic, with development, ie more houses in the same area you get not only a loss of "habitat", but an increase of cats and dogs, cats must kill millions of birds a year, then all the traffic casulties as well? Farming , whats left of it? Take dairy farms as they said in the press recently the few remaining are factory dairy farms, wheres 40-50 years ago there were many many small dairy/livestock farms, with them wildlife flourished? P.S. does any one remember as kids back in the (1960-70s ) the sound of grass hoppers and catching them, never see them now?

 

[Kidds]

P.S. does any one remember as kids back in the (1960-70s ) the sound of grass hoppers and catching them, never see them now?

Loads here, my poly tunnel was full of them until recently when some pheasant chicks found them.

 

[choochter]

The general "official" answer is farming and modern agriculture, i think that most of the loss of these birds and hedgehogs, insects, grass hoppers etc etc is the development and increase in cars, traffic, with development, ie more houses in the same area you get not only a loss of "habitat", but an increase of cats and dogs, cats must kill millions of birds a year, then all the traffic casulties as well? Farming , whats left of it? Take dairy farms as they said in the press recently the few remaining are factory dairy farms, wheres 40-50 years ago there were many many small dairy/livestock farms, with them wildlife flourished? P.S. does any one remember as kids back in the (1960-70s ) the sound of grass hoppers and catching them, never see them now?

heard some the other day chirruping away at the side of the track leading up to my shed, cattle grazing on both sides

 

[britt]

Never really see or hear grass hoppers until late July. My stack yard is heaving with them in autumn as the grass starts to die off.
Plenty of small birds here, you just don't see them much at this time of year because there's plenty of food around and the leaves on the trees hide them.
Heard the first robin yesterday, as it happens, and thought winters on it's way.

 

[4course]

Night before last above our buildings it was easy to count 80 or more first flighting swallows all seem to have fledged at the same time most ive ever noticed , drove across a stubble last night to see the baler man and lots of small birds catching insects /hares wondering where they are as their wheat has been harvested now waiting for the poachers!! Pigeons and others plus the sparrows that are around in reasonable numbers and the odd blackbird and thrush can hear a cacophony in the garden and orchard of song in the morning.
Interestingly its noticeable that this year there seems to be far less joggers cyclists and dog walkers round our way than compared to the end of covid restrictions which saw a boom also been a long time since weve had a gateway blocked by someone parking and going for a walk .There does seem to be less insect life about im thinking its mainly due to the high rainfall and lack of sun though there does seem to be an increase lately and our swallows must have eaten enough to survive in the numbers they have.
Wonder if the weather has drowned the flea beetle . ?

 

[wrenbird]

I noted a couple of weeks ago. I like to open the kitchen door in a morning whilst doing my chores and having breakfast. Virtually dead silence bar a few crows.

Wrong time of the year for the morning chorus. Peak time is in the spring, always quiet at this time of year.

 

[Dry Rot]

It has just been an exceptionally cold wet summer. Exceptional but not unheard of. Interesting to read the old bird books. They had worries in the past too. One I remember (haven't read the Kearton's books for years!) was the coming of the railways which were predicted to wipe out sky larks. Doom, doom, doom.

And I don't believe climate change either. Whatever happened to global warming? I've had the biggest clutches of chicks for years and the hens have only lost a couple. 16 in these two broods and 11 in another lot. But no sparrows.

 

[Pan mixer]

Song birds moult this time of year and do it quietly.

 

[ConanPB]

Well I’m glad to say the humble sparrow has made a comeback here.
After years of just seeing a handful we are seeing some big groups feeding on the spilt grain this summer. Plenty of swallows, but like as said before only the very occasional swift. Definitely less buzzards about