British garden birds suffer worst breeding season ever recorded

Robins, great tits and garden warblers had their worst breeding season ever recorded last year as a result of the bad weather, the British Trust for Ornithology has said.

The three birds were among 11 of the 25 species monitored by a ringing scheme over the past 25 years which saw their productivity fall significantly below average in 2008. According to the organiser of the Trust’s Constant Effort Sites (CES) ringing scheme, Mark Grantham, last year’s wet and windy summer once again played a large part in reducing the number of chicks birds were able to rear successfully. Only the reed warbler managed a slightly better than average breeding season. And the blackbird, great tit and song thrush saw their productivity drop by more than 30 per cent, with the thrushes witnessing a fall of 38 per cent in the number of young they managed to rear. … Last year’s problems followed on from 2007’s low productivity, with seven species suffering their worst breeding season to date in the wake of the wettest May to July on record. … "If birds can’t predict from one season to another what will happen, there is no way that they can cope with that. "If in climate change scenarios these unpredictable springs and summers are going to be an increasing feature, that will cause huge problems for a lot of them." …

Garden birds suffer worst breeding season