Diversity of birds in your area?

[Amoeba]

What's the general diversity of birds in your area? Would you say there is a diverse range of species or would you say there are only a few common ones and little if at all else? Has the diversity of species increased or dropped in your area?

I find in Edinburgh the diversity of birds is quite low. There only seem to be a few very common ones that out-compete any others, and the less common 'common' birds here are actually pretty rare (song thrush, chaffinch, etc. are rare). I spend more time in rural areas, so I don't know if the situation is the same in the city.

[loripo]

In London there are definately more birds than there used to be. The RSPB did a survey in my local park in 2007 and listed 35. Most of those I have seen, and also I could add another 9. And our local paper's Nature Diary mentions more that have been seen in places like Richmond Park and the common areas we are lucky to have nearby. We have lost most of the industry that was along the river, it is all now high rise apartments and little marinas, but that has opened things up and left a few more green spaces.

[Amoeba]

That's good to hear. The other half was staying in London a week or so ago and he was mentioning how he was surprised at all the greenery. Seems they really cleaned up over there.

[ron1863]

We have a wide diversity of species in my area, just 10 miles north of Glasgow and I would say it has increased in the last ten or so years with Kingfishers, Buzzards, Peregrines, Raven and Crossbill now breeding regularly, Sparrows and Starlings on the increase and the usual assortment of finches and birds of prey.

[big bill]

Like Ron up here in the north 16 miles east of Inverness we are quite lucky the usual House Sparrow ,Buzzard,Tit Family,Chaffinch,Song Thrush,Diskin,Goldfinch Sparrowhawkqwuite a list and with the onset of the migration period coming upon us we will have some visitors as well so we are lucky.

[aeshna5]

Originally Posted by loripo

In London there are definately more birds than there used to be. The RSPB did a survey in my local park in 2007 and listed 35. Most of those I have seen, and also I could add another 9. And our local paper's Nature Diary mentions more that have been seen in places like Richmond Park and the common areas we are lucky to have nearby. We have lost most of the industry that was along the river, it is all now high rise apartments and little marinas, but that has opened things up and left a few more green spaces.

Certainly possible to record c50 species of bird in Richmond Park on a good day with some effort. London is well served with parks, woods, nature reserves, commons, gravel pits, reservoirs + of course the Thames.

[earthdragon64]

I've seen around 50 different species of bird in or flying over my garden in Aviemore in the last 5 years since I started recording. That increases to about 65 species in the forest near my house, which is mainly birch but with some pines and broad-leaved trees.

I think I get such a variety in my garden as there is a tree-lined footpath just outside my fence that runs up to the forest. I think that birds, and Squirrels, use this as a kind of highway from the forest into the village.

[rossy]

good question as i was about to put up something similar . i live on one side of apark and me mam lives half amile away on the other side. now the variety of birds she has coming in include bullfinches chaffinches great spotted woodpeckers blue tits great tits nuthatches dunnocks robins blackbirds greenfinches sparrows starlings collard doves wood pigeons wrens. now i dont get the same but we have similar feeders i get sparrows dunnocks coal tits great tits blue tits collard doves wood pigeons blackbirds and occasionally a sparrowhawk but if you look at numbers me mam has far more visiting . i often wonder as there is not much distance between us oh and nearly forgot magpies and crows. rossy.

[AndrewB]

Sadly not very diverse. Apart from collared doves and starlings mostly tits, sparrows, dunnocks, robins and goldies plus occasionaly greenfinches, although I did once see what I think was a pied wagtail.

I have put out all the basic food i.e seed, peanuts, fatballs, sunflower seeds plus nyjer, but although I live in a semi-rural area there is a busy road at the end of the garden.

Still very enjoyable to watch though.

[Morph]

The garden list here in the burbs of East Manchester is quite good 40+ species, which vary a lot not just over the seasons but over the years. Some of the highlights have been a juvenile Buzzard in the back garden, Goldcrest in the conifers, Siskin on the feeders, Pink-footed Geese over and Tawny Owl on the chimney. But then we are just on the edge of the Peak District.