Return of the song thrush

[BUMPKIN]

As a child there seemed to be equal amounts of blackbirds and song thrushes in the garden and then the thrushes started to disappear.

I am so pleased this year to have already seen several song thrushes myself and have heard the same from others including stories of nest in gardens.

Could this be something to do with the switch to the production of much more 'Organic' crops and less use of pesticides. If it isn't I hope it is still something permanent that has happened to improve the situation.

[Lincs Yellowbelly]

There certainly appears to me more Song Thrush around nowadays, nothing like the numbers in the past but they still seem to be increasing

I was listening to 2 different Song Thrush singing at the weekend, in an area i never used to hear them. And now have started to see them in Town again

[Roy C]

I have been trying to get a nice photograph of a Song thrush for two years now but have only managed a couple of snatched shots where they have been buried in some thick bushes. In my neck-of-the-woods they still remain rare - I walk in the country most days and very rarely see one.

[Cotham Marble]

Food availability and nesting habitat are likely to be limiting factors on the population see - Action plan for Turdus philomelos

For the endemic UK population change in the way that gardens are managed is likely to impact upon frequency of human and thrush interactaction and the growth in the domestic cat population will have an impact on a bird that is almost exclusively a ground feeder - see:

The Mammal Society: Mammal Fact Sheets

CM

[Gandalf]

Since the middle of the month I have had two visit my garden nearly every day. This is a first for me.

Cheers,