Show British birds some love
Love is in the air – and it’s time to show our feathered friends some!
Changes in woodland management, land use and drainage are just a few of the factors that have affected the numbers of wild birds in the UK, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). We’ve lost 38 million birds from UK skies in the last 50 years, including a severe decline in numbers of House Sparrows and Starlings.
The RSPB, which was set up to protect birds being killed for their feathers, recently encouraged people to take part in the annual Great Big Birdwatch to give a better idea of changes in the bird population.
If you’re keen to attract birds to your garden, National Nestbox Week runs from Tuesday 14 to Tuesday 21 February. Now is the perfect time to mount a box if you’d like more Blue Tits, Great Tits or Coal Tits in your back yard, as they tend to investigate nesting sites in spring.
Stroud Valleys Project’s Tamsin Bent explains, “Different birds nest in different types of box. Our volunteers make boxes for small garden birds as well as Swifts and owls – we even have sparrow terraces! Where you site your box is important – it should be at least two metres off the ground and facing away from the prevailing wind.”
SVP’s eco shop in the centre of Stroud is the place to buy a nestbox. As eco shop coordinator Tash Fletcher explains, “Our boxes are lovingly made by volunteers at our Creative Shed. Each one is made with care and attention – so they’re an ideal gift for St Valentine’s Day.
“Our Creative Shed volunteers come from all walks of life – they might be recovering from addictions or experiencing poor mental health, for example – and they absolutely thrive on creating our bird and bat boxes.”
Creating natural spaces that birds enjoy is easy – just leave your garden to go a little wild rather than keeping it too tidy and regimented. Birds enjoy having a ‘tree corridor’ so they can fly from bough to bough without the risk from predators, for example. SVP are currently involved in a Stroud-wide project to nurture and improve community green spaces; as part of their Garden Guardians project, the charity is developing natural play areas in Stratford Park for families to enjoy and that will also provide wildlife habitats.
SVP volunteers make bird and bat boxes
One last thing to do to show your love for wildlife: sign a petition to require that new housing includes ‘Swift bricks’ offering Swifts a place to nest. As housing has improved, there are fewer places for the Common Swift, which is on the Red List of endangered species, to nest, and numbers have dropped by an estimated 50%.
Find the petition at petition.parliament.uk/petitions/626737.