The figures for RSPB 2022’s Big Garden Birdwatch are in and while the usual suspects have once again topped the charts, there's also a couple of optimistic results to spotlight in the mix.
Over its four decades, the Bird Garden Birdwatch has helped map an annual snapshot of how birdlife is coping across Scotland and the UK, highlighting the most abundant - and struggling - species of garden birds. An impressive 697,735 people took part in the survey this year, counting more than 11 million birds in total.
While the House Sparrow are top of the flocks for the 19th year running, with Blue Tits, Starlings, Woodpigeons and Blackbirds comprising the top five, sightings of Greenfinches and, most surprisingly, Jays have increased this year.
This is an optimistic result for Greenfinches, as the 7.7% rise from 2021 follows a long period of decrease (down 70% since 1979) potentially signalling the first signs of recovery in the UK population.
“This is a glimmer of hope for the greenfinch,” says Becca Smith, Media Officer at the RSPB. “Only last year it was placed on the UK Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern. It’s been struggling with a long-term outbreak of trichomonosis, a disease that affects the throat and gullet and is spread by contaminated food and water. In many places Greenfinches have almost disappeared.”
The elusive but beautifully coloured Jay also showed an intriguing increase, moving up nine places in the rankings to number 23, increasing by 73% compared with 2021 numbers.
“We’re not quite sure why it has gone up so significantly,” Becca Smith continues, “Jays spend much of the autumn collecting acorns for their winter food store, but in many places last year the acorn crop failed. It’s possible they visited gardens because of this food shortage, although we cannot be sure. But for garden watchers it’s a beautiful bonus to have.”
The full 2022 results are as follows:
1. House sparrow
2. Blue tit
3. Starling
4. Wood pigeon
5. Blackbird
6. Robin
7. Goldfinch
8. Great tit
9. Magpie
10. Chaffinch