Birdwatching webchat with Peter Holden MBE, 28 May 1-2pm

Hi everyone, here this afternoon - thank you for inviting me! I've had great fun looking through the wide variety of questions and looking forward to some more interesting ones as we go along.

whenim64

Can you give me some idea of what will attract robins to nest in the beautiful des res robin nest I have provided for them? It doesn't face the sun through the day, is at a suitable, safe height, isn't accessible by cats, isn't near the feeding station, has some cover from a pear tree and laurel bush, isn't brightly painted. I could go on....

Instead. they prefer to squeeze through the slightly open door of my out house and nest precariously in the well of an unused galvanised bucket! I converted this room to make a potting shed and house my garden hose reel, so can't go in there now until they fledge.

What can I do to attract them to their purpose built nest nest time?

Lots of questions about robins, which is not surprising as they're producing lots of young right now. At least you're lucky that you've got some nesting, even if they're not where you expected them to be. There is a lot of luck involved in putting up nest boxes, but or robins it's best to put them lower down, well-hidden in bushes and in a shady position. But even doing that, they may end up going back to your garden shed.

Harrikat

Is it better for garden birds to find their own food during the summer, and do you have any suggestions for bird-feeding without attracting rats?

Thanks for asking that, because the advice in many old bird books has been changed and the experts are now suggesting that we should feed garden birds all through the year - even in summer. The reason is that research has shown that birds do not often breed as successfully in gardens as they do in the wider countryside, because of a shortage of food. This is especially true of tits and sparrows.

So, quality bird food in proper feeders where they cannot take too big a portions can help more young to survive, not just during the spring, but also through the summer and early autumn.

Bird feeders hanging from trees and bushes should not attract rats and mice, and any bits that are dropped are usually picked up by smaller birds during the day.

NannaJeannie

nanajan I have a regular Sparrowhawk which swoops in every month or so and takes out a goldfinch. I feed niger seeds to my goldfinches, so I get plenty. I feel very mean that I am laying on a food source for the Sparrowhawk, but they are magnificent creatures too. Would Peter care to say a few words about Sparrowhawks and wild bird populations?

twinsmum100 was it a Jay? I only say that because they are very striking and have some blue in them

nanajan

The tree outside our living room (which is up high above the garage, so when we look out we are level with the top of the tree) is daily full of about half a dozen beautiful goldfinches, presumably all males as they are so colourful. We have lived here 11 years and this is the first year I can remember seeing so many every day. Do they have an predators, as they are so colourful they are not very camouflaged so must be easy to spot ?

Great to have questions about goldfinches. Not only are they really attractive, but they've spread into suburban and even urban gardens in recent years, bringing a splash of colour to even the dullest garden!

nanajan. your birds may have been males or females, because it is hard to tell the difference. However, about now they will be joined by others without any red on their faces, which will be the juveniles. They may look gaudy, but they can be quite well camouflaged when sitting amongst foliage. They are further protected from predators by their habit of colonial living, often flying in small flocks with a bouncy flight and with a blizzard of wings would help confuse a predator.

nanajeannie, I'm really pleased that you're not anti-sparrowhawk, even though you have seen them take some of your goldfinches. To make this more of a challenge for the sparrowhawk, you could try moving your bird feeders round the garden so that have to take different routes to attack, and in general, feeders should be near to cover, where the birds can hide if danger strikes.

jeni

Why do the great tits in the garden build a nest, lay eggs and then abandon it? This has happened for the last two years running.

This was the first question of several which related to birds failing to breed. It is really imposible to be certain of what happened, and we can only speculate.

If a bird goes to the efforts of producing a clutch of eggs, then it intends to produce young if it possibly can, and one can only conclude that something dramatic happened to one or both the parents.

If only a nest was built with no eggs, then it is possible that the birds found a better nest site elsewhere. What I find fascinating is the number of failures in a year. Vast numbers of eggs and small birds do not survive because of changing weather, lack of food, predation, disturbance and lots of other reasons. In most bird populations, only a tiny percentage of young will survive their first few weeks and an even smaller percentage get through to the breeding season the next year. On average, out of two adult great tits and eight young in June, only two will be alive next April.

However, an individual bird only needs to reproduce successfully once during its lifetime to achieve a sustainable population!

firenze

We have jays in our garden but they do get attacked by the magpies - sometimes with quite horrible results. Is there anything I can do to stop this?

I'm really amazed by this, as I would've thought jays could stick up for themselves. Being crows, and quite large, and often predatory, I would expect them to give as good as they get, and the two species often live quite close together. Therefore your observation is really interesting.

There have been some other questions about jays, and some interesting responses, one quoting Bill Oddie. I would certainly agree with these observations: jays are much more common than many people imagine and they have moved from the countryside into the suburbs and even the city centres. Despite their bright colours and loud voices, they can be very secretive.

I have jays living near my home in Bedfordshire, and I know they visit my garden, but I only catch a glimpse of them a few times a year, often in autumn when they are searching for food supplies - especially acorns - and again in Spring, when they are looking for nests to rob. Jays are just as much egg-thieves as magpies.

saturdayschild

I live in an urban area and in the last few years I've heard for more birdsong in the night. Has this always happened or is it because the lights are never off? - and what effect is this having on bird behaviour? Thanks

artygran

We have not lived in this house for long but we have a bird that often sings outside our house at about 3.30 in the morning when it is still dark. It sounds like a blackbird. I have never heard a bird singing this early, before dawn. Is this unusual behaviour?

Obviously there are some birds that will sing all night: nightingales being the famous example. Recently scientists have shown that these are usually unmated males, desperate to attract a female, but other birds will also sing at night, such as sedge warblers.

Mostly the birds we hear at night have had their song "triggered" by bright lights, and it is not unusual to hear robins singing in the middle of the night where there are bright security lights for example. I even heard of a robin which would sing occasionally in the night when car headlights happened to light up its bush.

It would be unusual to hear a blackbird in the middle of the night, but certainly not impossible.

Birds in busy areas are having to adapt their behaviour because of human activity. Not only this additional song, but even the sound frequency at which they sing during the day may be increasing in order to overcome local traffic noise.

eGJ

Wow; can rember Peter Holden from the young RSPB junior section years ago when my DDs were young!
Is there a specific time related to dawn that the Dawn Chorus to start each day?

If you remember my activities with the junior RSPB, you may remember I was always setting projects for children to try and answer questions like this for themselves. So, I could say why not try and find out!

As it happens, the day after your question came in I happened to be up at 3.45 for a reason I will not go into (but may be age-related!) and I heard a blackbird just starting to sing, but obviously starting time will vary in different parts of the country at different times of year and our old youth surveys showed that there was often an order to which birds "woke up". Blackbirds being quite early and skylarks were later on wet mornings.

Dare I suggest that this might be a good project for grandchildren? Certainly to introduce young children to the wonders of the countryside around dawn is something that grandparents might like to consider.

Clarevoyant

My grandchildren live in the city and have very little contact with nature. What's the best way to get them interested in birds and conservation?

I think this is a hugely important question. A great number of children are growing up in a society where they are not exposed to nature for all sorts of reasons. Schools and environmental organisations are increasingly aware of this growing gap and some are trying to do something to improve it.

Grandparents can play a vital role, especially during holiday times, by getting children into "real countryside", and experiencing nature firsthand. Many nature reserves, especially RSPB, and country parks have organised activities to help the children and getting youngsters along to these cold provide the ideal holiday activity. Alternatively, doing it yourself and letting a child explore a "wild place" with a magnifying glass, a simple guide book, or even binoculars might be the pivotal activity that will trigger an interest in nature that might last a lifetime.

I would also suggest enrolling children in the junior section of one of the major charities such as RSPB or the Wildlife Trusts so they receive stimulating educational material throughout the year.

One final point: don't assume there is no nature in cities. I have recently led walks through pocket parks in central London and found a variety of species - from goldfinches to parakeets and insects varying from ladybirds to moths. And even in the city centre children can learn the "dangers of a stinging nettle" and the benefits of a dock leaf.