Preliminary Results 2011

Preliminary results from the 2011 Garden Bird Survey show a large drop in the number of silvereyes. From the first 1445 survey returns processed, the average number of silvereyes was less than half the number counted last year (6.5 compared with 13.2 per garden). Survey participants made comments such as, ‘Where are all the silvereyes?’ and ‘The lowest number of silvereyes we’ve had in years’.

The low number of silvereyes this year may be a result of the mild winter. The lack of snow and frosts may mean there is still plenty of natural food around, so birds have not been forced into gardens in search of food.

The average number of house sparrows counted this year was similar to last year (12.9 compared with 12.6 per garden). The counts of most other species also appear to be similar to last year. The final results won’t be known for some months, after all the data have been entered into the computer and checked for accuracy.

Up-to-date results can be found on the garden bird survey website; www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biocons/gardenbird/

Dead birds?

Some people have reported finding dead birds in their garden. If you find a large number of dead birds (say more than about 20) then you should report the finding to MAF Biosecurity, phone 0800 80 99 66. They might be interested in testing the birds for diseases or poisons if they are freshly dead. If you were prepared to store them in your fridge (not freezer), you could put two or three freshly dead birds in a plastic bag (and put that inside a second plastic bag for security). Store them in the fridge (not freezer – freezing destroys cell structure that might be useful for identifying diseases). Please note, you should use disposable gloves when handling dead birds.

Why count for only 1 hour ?

Someone wrote to me recently (I paraphrase), “If I watched for only 1 hour I may not see any birds or very few, yet I know that the garden has regular visits from several species of birds during the day. For instance, this morning we had as many as 5 goldfinches eating seeds from a lavender bush and a rosemary bush. At different times today since then I’ve seen a blackbird, a chaffinch, 2 dunnock, 3 fantails (2 and 1 at different times), and a couple of starlings. Some days we will hear/see grey warbler, tui, and joy of all joys, even bellbird … So observations over a whole day or even several days will be much more representative of the garden’s birdlife than observations over just 1 hour. Is this what you really want?”

The answer is that we want people to count for 1 hour only.

It is correct that watching all day will give you a better picture of birdlife in your garden than watching for just 1 hour. However, not many people are able or willing to watch all day.

We want everybody to watch and count for the same length time. One hour was chosen as a length of time that many people can manage. We’d rather have more people watch for 1 hour than fewer people watch for a longer time.

In 1 hour you won’t record all the species or all the birds that visit your particular garden, but if enough people do the survey we will get a good picture of the average numbers of birds of all species that visit the average garden. Another way of looking at it is like this – birds that are not in your garden will be in somebody else’s garden. So please encourage your neighbours to do the survey as well!

Your most common bird

I’d like to know which is the most common bird in your garden.

At this time of year (winter) mine is the silvereye (also known as waxeye or white-eye). That’s because I put out sugar-water, which attracts silvereyes in their hundreds, well …  at least 50–100 at a time.

What’s your most common bird?

Home & Away – DOC blog

You might enjoy this recent post on the DOC blog – all about birdlife in our backyard and elsewhere.

http://blog.doc.govt.nz/2010/05/12/home-and-away/

How to participate

Welcome to the NZ Garden Birds blog

Welcome to the NZ Garden Birds blog. This year (2010) will be the fourth annual New Zealand garden bird survey. For the first three years house sparrows and silvereyes were by far the most common birds detected in our gardens. Interestingly, house sparrow numbers have increased and silvereye numbers have decreased over the last two years. I don’t expect these trends to continue this year, but let’s see!

Help us find out by spending just one hour watching birds in your garden and recording the highest number of each species you see at once during the hour. Mark the dates in your diary or on your calendar now so you don’t forget – do the survey for one hour sometime between 26 June and 4 July. More details, a new bird identification guide, and the 2010 survey form will be available soon on the garden bird survey website www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/biocons/gardenbird/

2010 survey

The 2010 Garden Bird Survey will take place between 26 June and 4 July. Members of the public are again being asked for help in spotting birds in their gardens. Instructions, a bird identification poster, and survey form will be available online closer to the date of the survey.