Page 26 - Real Rochdale Issue 14 Summer 2022

The RSPB Big Garden
Birdwatch 2022
House sparrows held onto the top spot, but the jay
surprisingly flew nine places up the results from this year’s
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.
House Sparrow
This year almost 700,000 people across the UK
took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch ,
counting more than 11m birds.
In Greater Manchester, the house sparrow took
the top spot, followed closely by starling and
woodpigeon.
In the UK, the jay moved up nine places to
number 23, an increase of 73% compared to
2021 numbers. Each autumn, jays, a colourful
member of the crow family, can often be seen
flying back and forth finding and hiding acorns
to help see them through the winter. These are
then hidden in the cracks and crevices of trees,
but also in leaf litter on the ground. An individual
REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022 26
Photos: Ian Kimber
Goldfinch Robin
Woodpigeon Blue Tit
jay can store around 8,000 acorns each year and There was a small increase in greenfinches by temporarily stopping the provision of food if
many remain buried to grow into oak trees. compared to 2021, giving scientists a glimmer ill birds are seen and making sure that garden
of hope that this might be the first signs of a bird feeders are cleaned regularly.
The 10 most common birds in Greater population recovery, but only time will tell.
Manchester: Over its four decades, Big Garden Birdwatch has
In recent years the greenfinch has suffered a highlighted the winners and losers in the garden
1. House sparrow population crash (62% since 1993) caused by a bird world. It was first to alert the RSPB to the
2. Starling severe outbreak of the disease trichomonosis decline in song thrush numbers, which are still
3. Woodpigeon and, as a consequence, the species was added down 81% compared to the first Big Garden
4. Blue tit to the UK Red List last year. This infection is Birdwatch in 1979.
5. Blackbird spread through contaminated food and drinking
6. Magpie water, or by birds feeding one another with This species was a firm fixture in the top ten in
7. Goldfinch regurgitated food during the breeding season. 1979. By 2009, its numbers were less than half
8. Robin those recorded in 1979, it came in at 20 in the
9. Feral pigeon Garden owners can help slow transmission rates rankings this year, seen in just 8% of gardens.
10. Great tit
27 REAL ROCHDALE - summer 2022