WATCH THE BIRDIE With figures still showing an alarming decline in our native bird species, charities and conservationists are urging people to help our feathered friends this winter
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his is always an important month for bird-lovers as the RSPB holds its annual Big Garden Birdwatch (this year from 28th to 30th January) and asks as many people as possible to join in. To take part, you simply count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park, for a full hour anytime between these dates and let the charity know what you spot. Designed to be suitable for everyone, whether you’re a complete beginner or a fully fledged expert, you’ll get all the help you need when you sign up, from bird ID to caring for your winter visitors. You’ll find plenty of advice on how to attract garden birds and how to identify them – and you never know what you might see. Maybe you’ll enjoy a charm of chattering goldfinches or a flock of feisty sparrows? Or will it be the soulful song of a robin that wins your heart? Everything you log will help the charity in its vital conservation and protection work by informing them of which birds are in decline and which are on the up.
Reporting back
Meanwhile, finch numbers have continued to fall, with the lowest numbers ever recorded for greenfinches and chaffinches. The sad truth is that there are actually far fewer birds around. Over the past 50 years, 40 million birds have vanished from the UK’s skies. And it’s not just birds that are suffering. The RSPB’s latest State of Nature report found that around two-fifths of UK species are in decline, including turtle doves, red squirrels and water voles. Nature needs our help like never before. Find out how to join in and do your bit for birds and wildlife at www.rspb.org.uk
UK’s top ten most commonly spotted birds 1. House sparrow 2. Blue tit 3. Starling 4. Blackbird 5. Woodpigeon
6. Robin 7. Great ti t 8. Goldfinch 9. Magpie 10. Long-tailed tit
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More than 17 million birds were counted in Big Garden Birdwatch 2021. It was the organisation’s biggest Master of song, the blackbird Birdwatch ever, with over a million people taking part. Top spot went to the house sparrow; this plucky little bird took the Birdwatch crown for the 18th year running, although blackbirds and robins also did well, moving up the spotters’ table to come in at 4th and 6th place respectively.
The house sparrow has topped the charts for 18 years
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PROJECT PARADISE
Cheshire Wildlife Trust shares its plans to turn exhausted farmland into a wildlife haven of meadows, woodland and ponds
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aving successfully raised the money to buy some Cheshire farmland at the end of last year, Cheshire Wildlife Trust is about to start transforming it into a wildlife paradise. The Saltersford Farm plot, on the banks of the River Dane, is equivalent in size to 25 football pitches. But years of ploughing and fertilising have eroded the soil and sent chemicals into the water. The Trust plans to plant trees to join up “We can the existing patches and create homes for make this woodland dwellers like tawny owls. Digging a reality ponds will attract waders like curlew and but we lapwing, while species-rich new grassland still need will provide homes to bees, butterflies and other insects as well as small mammals. your help” A spokesperson for the Trust said: “Saltersford Farm is less than a mile from our Swettenham Valley reserve, so buying this land will help create
a corridor for plants and animals to move freely through the valley. Imagine wildflowers perfuming the air where butterflies drift by day and owls quarter by night. A pristine river invites jewel-coloured dragonflies and even the flash of a kingfisher. We can make this Will the kingfisher return? a reality in the Dane Valley but we still need your help.” Over the next two years they need to repay a £400,000 loan from the charitable trust that helped to buy the land, while the ambitious five-year restoration plan is expected to cost around £200,000. To donate, visit www.cheshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/Saltersfordfarm
90 SHIRE MAGAZINE | January/February 2022
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