MORE than 1,000 people from the Channel Islands took part in this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch, a national survey which has revealed some “concerning” results about the decline of one of our “most charismatic” birds.
The RSPB initiative asks people across the British Isles to “connect with wildlife” and help monitor species by spending an hour bird watching.
Survey results have shown the once common starling has fallen out of the top three most popular garden birds as their numbers continue to decline.
In the Channel Islands, the number of starlings spotted by birdwatchers fell even further to tenth place, from fifth last year.
Starlings are medium-sized birds with glossy plumage that has a purple and green sheen, often with white spots during winter. The birds are a red-listed endangered species in the UK, although experts are unsure of the exact reason why numbers continue to struggle.
The birds’ breeding population has declined by 82% between 1970 to 2022. Prior to the Millennium, the Starling was regularly the most numerous species recorded in the charity’s annual survey.
In the Channel Islands, results showed the top three most common birds were the house sparrow, wood pigeon and great tit.
In the UK, the top spot was also taken by the house sparrow, with blue tit in second and wood pigeon third.
The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey that aims to understand how native bird species are faring across the British Isles. Around 600,000 people took part this year, including 1,100 in the Channel Islands.
RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight said this year’s results were “a reason for concern”.
“Starlings are one of our most charismatic garden birds,” she said.
“With one-in-six species at risk of extinction from Great Britain, we’ve done more damage to our natural world than we realise. However, we can all do our bit to support these threatened birds by taking small actions that can not only benefit starlings, but a wealth of other garden wildlife.”
To find out the full Big Garden Birdwatch results, visit rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch
