After much digging over the past 12 months I have have finally decided the demise of the small birds where I live is due to air polution. I live in one of the worst places in the U.K. The village is plagued by the amount of traffic passing through and because of the layout it is slow and often stationary filling the air with burnt exhaust gases.
We no longer have house sparrows, very few garden birds, the visiting swifts failed to nest this year. Only the larger birds such as these cormorants, corvids and of course ferral pidgeons dominate the air space. The food in my feeders is often thrown away without being touched. The local RSPB reserve are suffering too although they don't seem to recognise the situation. The feeders have been removed because it was noticed that some of the finches were sick and there was a fear of it spreading. Now the healthy birds are suffering because of lack of food.
We no longer have house sparrows, very few garden birds, the visiting swifts failed to nest this year. Only the larger birds such as these cormorants, corvids and of course ferral pidgeons dominate the air space. The food in my feeders is often thrown away without being touched. The local RSPB reserve are suffering too although they don't seem to recognise the situation. The feeders have been removed because it was noticed that some of the finches were sick and there was a fear of it spreading. Now the healthy birds are suffering because of lack of food.
Hi Mike. I'm sure you are right about pollution. But there are other factors too: agricultural changes, Building houses and other projects on marginal and sometimes green belt land. The increase in the UK population as a whole creates disturbance to nesting birds in all types of habitats leading to poor productivity and failed nests etc, etc. We are in a bad way I'm afraid.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything you say Phil and all that you speak of is happening around me, but at my age my blog is the only method I have of shouting about it.
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