NOA Winter Garden Bird Survey 2009-10

2009-2010 NOA WINTER GARDEN BIRD SURVEY RESULTS: The tables below show the top 25 birds according to the number of weeks they were seen and the numbers counted.  Table 1 - the number of weekly sightings - indicates bird distribution, while Table 2 - actual numbers counted – indicates how well individual species are doing.  Once again the two tables show that the most numerous birds, Starling and House Sparrow, are not necessarily the most widely distributed.  Whereas almost everyone saw a Blackbird or a Robin (generally in ones and twos) in their garden every week, they saw Starlings or House Sparrows (generally in flocks) much less often. Of course the most notable aspect of this winter has been the exceptionally cold conditions, however there has been relatively little change in the results. Blackbird remains the most frequently recorded species while House Sparrow has been the most abundant in numbers, taking over from the 2008/9 leader, the Starling. This suggests that birds already making use of garden feeders were relatively unaffected by the weather since food was readily available. It is interesting to note that both Great Tit and Blue Tit have been less widely distributed this year, while Dunnock has now leapt from 7th to 3rd in the weekly sightings. The numbers of Fieldfares and Redwings shown in the table of bird numbers would suggest that relatively few of the many thrushes which were seen over the winter were coming to gardens to feed. Siskin does not appear in either table this year probably owing to a reduction in the number of irruptive birds, while Blackcap appears in the weekly sightings table for the first time in many years, suggesting that an unusually high number of these birds were forced into gardens to feed.

It is with great regret that we have to report this must be the final year of the NOA Winter Garden Bird Survey.
As many members will already be aware, the Association re-launched the survey in the Autumn of 2007 with the intention of trying to make the survey more statistically significant. The survey was taken on by Trustee Robin Parker who has put in a great deal of work in the last three years, carefully logging and comparing survey results, and writing reports for our various newsletters. In order to draw serious conclusions from the data the Association needed to generate 200 or more surveys, and in the first year there was a 70% increase in the number received. However the number of surveys received from the 2009-10 winter season has already reduced from last year and as we are falling so short of what is needed, it has been decided the survey can no longer continue. We are very disappointed not to be able to carry on but we are extremely grateful to everyone who has contributed, many of them year after year, to our winter survey.
We feel that it is important that this information does not go to waste and as the survey has involved gardens all over the UK and Ireland, we feel that the obvious solution is to encourage our members to participate in the British Trust for Ornithology’s Garden Birdwatch instead. This national survey operates all year round and has been running since 1995. Participants pay a £15.00 subscription to the survey and receive 4 colour newsletters a year (entitled Bird Table). There is also a wealth of information about the survey on the BTO Website at www.bto.org/gbw
We will continue to keep all records from the NOA Surveys to date, both on paper and in digital form, for future reference.
Finally THANK YOU to Ray Kimber, Robin Parker, and the many members who have worked to complete the survey over the years, your efforts have been very much appreciated and we hope that you have enjoyed recording, as I’m sure you will continue to do in the future.