Winners and losers in Warwickshire's bird life

Sightings of robins are down across Warwickshire, with the wet weather being blamed. (s)

THE WET spring weather has resulted in some winners and losers among Warwickshire's bird life.

The results of the RSPB’s annual Make Your Nature Count survey showed the number of gardens with baby thrush species in them had fallen by more than a quarter compared to last year.

Sightings of baby blackbirds, robins and song thrushes - all members of the thrush family - were also down, with the wet and cold weather in the early part of the breeding season making it harder for adult birds to find enough food for their chicks.

Housemartins were down by almost a quarter and swifts were down by around ten per cent compared to last year.

At the other end of the scale it was a good year for breeding song thrushes with sightings up 12 per cent on last year.

Adult blackbirds were also seen in good numbers, recorded as the most widespread bird across the UK and were seen in more than 90 per cent of the gardens surveyed.

Visit www.rspb.org.uk/naturecount to find out more about the survey.

* Trees and woods make a strong contribution to people's well-being, according to the Woodland Trust in Warwickshire.

The organisation is encouraging people in the county to help make their local area more green by getting involved in drawing up a ‘neighbourhood plan’ that includes planting trees.

Spokesman James Cooper said: "Trees and woods help to keep the air clean and breathable, support wildlife and add value to the culture and economy of our towns and cities. They help to make communities healthier, wealthier and happier places to live and work.”

Visit www.woodlandtrust.org.uk for further details.

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