Garden for birds and wake up to a spirit-lifting dawn chorus

10:08am Thursday 3rd April 2008

More needs to be done to stop the fall in bird numbers, the RSPB warned as it released the results of its Big Garden Birdwatch.

Top of the list of birds in Kingston was the starling, with an average of almost four per garden.

In second came the house sparrow, with 2.54 per garden, while the woodpigeon was third, with 2.37 per garden.

While there was little change in the top 10 species spotted, there was concern that the survey showed a continuing decline in numbers of the most common birds.

Tim Webb, spokesman for RSPB London, said: "What these figures tell us is that Kingston has a remarkable range of garden birds, with more than 30 different species found.

"But we are concerned at the continuing fall in the number of starlings and house sparrows. These are our most common birds but they're vanishing, mostly as a result of a lack of food and shelter."

More than 17 per cent of land in Kingston is made up of private gardens and the RSPB urged garden owners to manage their garden to help wildlife by growing plants that provide both food and shelter.

Tim Webb added: "Having birds flit past your windows and insects buzzing round your flowerbeds is what it's all about.

"Waking up to the dawn chorus raises the spirits and I find watching wildlife incredibly relaxing after the stress of working and travelling in London.

"Gardening for wildlife is rewarding when you see the results of your labours; it's also a good physical workout and you can grow your own food."

More than 20,000 Londoners took part in the RSPB's annual survey across 14,000 gardens on January 26 and 27.

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