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

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

Would any of the numerous small birds that feed in our garden eat the buds of a Wisteria. I ask this because we have a mature Wisteria which has flowered profusely over the last 10 years. This year however while everyone elses wisteria is blooming beautifully ours has just a dismal few flowers. We have noticed the sparrows and bluetits pecking at it, we thought they were eating small flies or insects but are now wondering if it was the newly emerging flower buds they were feasting on. If they do we can be on the defensive next year.

Why would a robin nest on the ground in a grass verge, in danger of being trod on? There were four roblets in the nest, hopefully still there.

We are soon to move into a new build house and garden and would like to attract birds. Any tips please

I have a camera bird box in my garden and I've spent most of the last few weeks watching a pair of Bluetits. First in the building of their nest, laying eggs then rearing their brood of hungry offspring. They fledged yesterday and I suddenly have a huge gap in my day. Are they likely to return to the nest box to reuse it or should I find something else to pass the time!!!

We thought we had blackbirds nesting in our mixed planting hedge; there was a lot of activity about a month ago, but everything has gone very quiet recently and we have not seen either adult bird, or heard any cheeping chicks. I read somewhere that 9 out of 10 blackbird nestings end in failure. Is this figure correct (seems very high), and are there any factors, apart from cats and other predators, that make birds give up and desert a nest. How will I know if this nest has been deserted, as there are bits of this hedge that will need trimming very soon and I don't want to go poking about in it if there is a possibility they are still around. Are they tolerant of us moving around our garden? Sorry, lots of questions!

twinsmum100 Bill Oddie tells a funny anecdote on TV about Jays. He says, whenever anyone comes up to him and says "Bill....." in a questioning manner, he immediately says "Jay" because more often than not, when people are puzzled and see one for the first time, they are taken aback because of its colouring, stance and size. Its more funny the way he tells it though. As its the question he gets asked the most, he just takes a chance and answers Jay anyway. He told this anecdote on Springwatch last year. This years Springwatch starts on 28 May.

So, I guessed Jay from when you said 'blue' and I thought I would do a Bill Oddie

Hello, I live in Suffolk and have a garden which is often frequented by blue tits blackbirds robins etc. We feed the brids regularly with sunflower hearts peanuts and fat balls so we do get a steady stream of lovely birds visiting us. I notice that blackbirds will actually do a 'humming bird' act whilst feeding off the bird feeders but the dunnocks never try so what is it in one bird that can hover or perch on a feeder where another one can't?

twinsmum if you have oak trees nearby you will often get jays - they seem to drop out of the sky and come rooting for acorns in late autumn and spring. I have a visiting pair that are always together. Such beautiful birds.

We live in West London close to the A40 and also have a local sparrow hawk, he took a collared dove and brought it down in our garden a couple of weeks ago.. sad but he certainly was magnificent too.. Have seen Red Kites along the A40 corridor a bit further out than Denham.

NannaJeanie YES It was a Jay thank you, it was really striking, beautiful in fact, really made my day.

Another question for Peter,
How do I start getting more birds to visit my garden? Should I buy a table, hang things from trees? Living in Richmond there are lots of the green parakeets, what would encourage them to my garden, I know my twins would love seeing them

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

How do you, as a member of the RSPB, equate the loss of habitat and environments with the apparent need for extra transport links and the increase in employment?

I live in north Kent and have been a member of the RSPB for over 40 years and a member of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust for over 20 years. Although having spent many a happy hour walking, the Hoo Peninsular...this is not a “NIMBY” concern as I am very aware of the need for employment in this area and if I’m being self-centred, it would make my over-seas travel a lot easier. However, I’m also aware of the need to save environments and habitats for the recreational need of the local population, as well as saving the local flora, fauna and migrating birds. Then there is the issue of ‘bird strike’. Could a large sea bird still bring down a modern plane if sucked into one of the engines?

Due to these mixed views I have felt unable to sign the many local petitions to block any of the five possible locations for this new airport. (Personally I’d favour the development of Manston Airport)

I would be very interested in your thoughts about this on-going issue.

Hi,why have blackbirds taken the trouble to build nests in my garden and then left them unused? We get so excited to see them so busy and then suddenly no sign of them,thank you

My garden has many birds but....wood pigeons...magpies..the larger variety. in an attempt to attract the little ones, put out food, nuts etc. The squirrels eat the food. HOW CAN I DISCOURAGE these creatures and the larger birds from taking over the garden and scaring the little birds away. They're just rats!

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?

we have also set up nesting box with web cam, but the blue tits have shown NO interest.

also why is the Big Bird Watch held at the end of January, we have a dismal number of birds to report yet a week or two later there are loads of them, friends report the same thing.

Is it becoming normal for Reed Buntings and Yellowhammers to feed on nut feeders in gardens as I have seen it for the first time this year?

A really unusual looking bird landed on my BBQ a few days ago, very excited I tried to look for it using the bird identifier tool on the RSPB website, it didn't come up

It was large, maybe slightly smaller than a crow, and had black, brown, white and blue feathers, and a strange face, unlike anything I've ever seen.
That's probably not the best description, I live near Richmond if that helps

I saw two Red Kites today near Bentley Hants. How far have they now spread in England since their introduction to Stokenchurch?

The other day a house sparrow came and nosey-ed (beaked?) her way around the potted clematis outside our French windows, and then chomped her way through two young clematis leaves. I thought sparrows ate insects and stuff - are they into greens, now, too?

why do sea birds call at night? They don't seem to have a dawn chorus!