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Howdy peoples and pigeons, how’ve ya been? I’ve been mega busy with work and housey stuff, surprising really considering the seemingly perpetual lockdowns but I’m BACK with a new edition of your absolute favourite blog. The wait is over folks, you can finally get a good nights sleep.
With spring on the horizon and the lockdown roadmap opening up, people in the UK are all of a sudden flocking to their gardens. These blobs of green are right now the most important parts of the house but don’t start to think you own your garden. You may believe you do but wildlife is the real owner here, you’re essentially just human-sized side baggage. As garden birds are bright, abundant and accustomed to people, we like to think that we know the most about them in comparison to other species. HOWEVER (there’s always a catch), there’s plenty of assumptions we have our backyard buddies that may be contrary to popular belief.
Here are some home truths about your garden birds!
Robins are horrible
Forget the gleeful Christmas cards and tag line of ‘gardeners best friend’, robins are the nastiest birds you’ll find out the back of your window. Don’t be fooled by their dainty demeanour, their redbreast may as well be blood. They will not only boisterously bully other bird table visitors but they will also fight for their own territory violently. Search on YouTube for videos of male robins attacking stuffed robins, you’ll see what I mean. Fake feathers fly as these aggy little dudes don’t mess around. There’s something fitting about a species looking regal on the outside but slightly unhinged under the surface being our national bird. Careful with those slow-mo shots of them landing on your hand, they might want to rip a finger off. Of course, I jest, but they're not as adorable as you think.
House sparrows are not common
The big garden birdwatch has seen house sparrows ranked as the number one most populous garden bird for years and years, so to call them rare may be a stretch. Today, their numbers are clearly holding up but their recent declines have caused significant alarm. In conservation terms, they're in the same boat as hen harriers, white-tailed sea eagles and turtle doves: red-listed. This means they are of the highest conservation concern in the UK. Declines of around half their population have been recorded since 1970, which gives you an indication of where they could be in the next few decades. Both starlings and herring gulls are both of this infamous club, so these are certainly not species to take for granted.
Wrens are common
Less doom and gloom, please! Ask yourself, when did you last see a wren? You may have heard their explosive song but they're not a bird to loiter around the birdbath or stuff their face with sunflower seeds. As such, you’d be forgiven thinking that these tiny critters are scarce and in real trouble. The fact is, they’re doing fine. They’re actually widely believed to be the most common bird in Britain and whilst some sources dispute this is the woodpigeon, wrens are certainly one of the most widely distributed. Whether it’s a tiny garden in central London or the depths of the Grampians, there’s probably a wren not too far from you. Their Latin name literally translates to ‘cave dweller’, a weird roundabout way of describing that they’ll live anywhere. Don’t worry guys, wrens are living their best lives.
You don’t keep the same garden birds
Anecdotes over a cup of tea and biscuits with your elderly neighbour/aunt/granny/other usually consist of a natter regarding all the bird table gossip. Frequented phrases thrown around may involve ‘my robin’ or ‘my blackbird’, relating to residents of the garden. Such melancholy stories told as though they may as well be equivalent to a mate down the pub. Well, newsflash, you’ve probably been hoodwinked. The birds may look the same but it’s highly likely it’s different birds. We only consider birds like swallows or fieldfares to migrate and tend to mistake ‘resident’ species for ones that don’t move at all. A huge number of blackbirds travel to the UK from Scandinavia every winter and our robins even flee blighty for warmer Mediterranean climes. Sorry Dot, turns out your birds actually hate your garden.
Doves don’t really mate for life
A symbol of peace and love the world over. In the UK, we’re treated to views of paired collared doves cooing and wooing one sniffed each spring. What a perfect embodiment of longevity in a relationship. Well, the fact is, it’s probably not true. Monogamy means that animals will only mate with one other individual but this doesn’t mean they don’t change that individual each year. They may stay with one partner in a mating season but sadly, cheating is rife. Birds like penguins and doves, who were thought to make eternal pair bonds are actually cheekier than we first thought. Apologies if this has shattered the idea of love for you, blame the birds!
Let’s hope this has opened your eyes to the antics of your feathered friends and if there are any bonkers facts I may have missed, please let me know!
Adioooooos...
