WHAT is happening in the bird world?

Days after filling the feeder, our peanuts remain untouched, yet a few weeks ago we could not keep up. My neighbour says the same. And the nyjer seed has remained in its tube for weeks, turning mouldy around the edges. Once upon a time it was teeming with goldfinches.

What is happening? Is it new year in the avian calendar, when they are all embarking on crash diets after the summer fruit feast? Is it that they don’t like our garden? I thought it may be our cat, but we have had him for ages, so that can’t be the reason. There’s a sparrowhawk, who occasionally strikes, and could have driven them away - but I have not seem him for ages.

The blackbirds, who used to visit every day for apples have deserted us too. And my beloved crow family haven’t been seen either, despite my putting chunks of meat on the hedge.

Even the bird bath, which I keep topped up with clear water, is not attracting the usual flocks of starlings splashing madly around. Now we just get the odd fat pigeon using it as a toilet.

I miss the birds: I used to love the cheeky gatherings of chaffinches, the tropical-looking goldfinches and the sparrows who were outside the window every morning waiting for their breakfast.

We have not has swifts in our roof space this year either as we have before. We miss them swooping in under the tiles to nest.

We don’t even have as many magpies as we did in the past. People hate them and their habits are not great, but they are intelligent birds. I recently watched two of them jousting on the lawn, it was so funny.

People don’t like pigeons either, but the sound of them cooing on a warm summer evening is lovely.

At the moment I am happy to see any birds visiting our garden, even ‘pesky’ pigeons. There is nothing worse than looking out on to feeders hanging untouched.

Studies have shown that common birds such as sparrows, starlings and skylarks are suffering dramatic declines in their numbers. Conservation experts blame increasing levels of fragmentation and urbanisation of the countryside for the huge losses.

Across Europe, among the worst hit species are house sparrows that have declined by around 150 million birds in the past 30 years while starlings have seen their numbers fall by 45 million.

Our garden seems to reflect this wider decline and I can only hope the birds come back. We have not seen a thrush in years - I’ve given up hope with them, yet when I was growing up they were a common sight.

A hard frost may do the trick. Ever the optimist, my husband says there is still plenty of food in the environment, so harsh weather may drive them the birds back to our feeders.

But even this is not guaranteed. Warmer weather all-year-round is putting many species out of sync and further harming bird populations.

My garden is destined to be forever bird-free. Still, Autumnwatch returns next Monday. I will console myself with that.

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