ONE of the major changes in wildlife in recent years has been our attitude to looking at and feeding garden birds and other wildlife.
However, apart from our own pleasure at seeing the birds, there is the other side to this and that is the conservation element that we, as individuals, may easily overlook.
There is no doubt that gardens are now a very important and integral part of wildlife conservation. Bird-wise it includes feed in various types of feeders, provision of shelter in the form of shrubs and trees and a wide variety of nestboxes designed sometimes for only certain species.
Birds are not the only consideration as increasingly people have been catering for other wildlife. In the Highlands red squirrel feeders are now commonplace, hedgehogs have their own style nestboxes and not forgetting garden ponds with their often rich assembly of wildlife of its own.
One current theme that runs through all this is the individual experiences of people. Who can fail to be impressed, for example, with a great spotted woodpecker coming to feeders such as the juvenile bird in the photograph on a peanut feeder?
People are now so interested in what the birds and wildlife are doing in their own gardens they obviously want to share this with others. Of all the questions and comments I get from readers and other sources over half of them are about the birds or wildlife in their garden.
Such interchanges are valuable but there are other aspects to consider. For example where can the average person find out what is happening in other gardens? Would anyone be interested in their own records and so on?
There are various ways of doing this but most of the ways involve surveys etc., over large areas of the countryside that in some ways are not applicable to the Highland scene.
For example, there is a big difference in garden birds between Southern Britain and Scotland. Furthermore, there is also a big difference between garden birds in the southern part of Scotland and the Highlands.
What should be taken into account is that the Highlands is a million acres larger than Wales which puts it all into perspective.
Now the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is starting to look closer at the Highland scene and last week they sent me some of the results of their analysis of the information they have been receiving.
For the last few years, since 1995 to be exact, there has been the chance to share any experiences via the Garden BirdWatch set up by the BTO. Now to add to this important survey the BTO is offering a three-week 'Taster' pack under this scheme.
The recording under the scheme could not be simpler. All you do is choose the area you would like to cover. This may be all your garden for example, or only the part you can see from the kitchen window. Then decide when and for how long your recording will be. For example, some people record for an hour on a Sunday whilst others spend 20 minutes each day throughout the week.
There is a simple form to send in recording your results and to simplify things you do not record birds flying over or seen in neighbouring gardens or fields. You just draw a black line horizontally through the box alongside the species name. Other wildlife in gardens such as squirrels, hedgehogs, butterflies and amphibians are also included.
If you contact the BTO they will send you the taster pack so that you can record over the following three weeks. You can get this free pack by telephoning 01842 750050 (ask for the Garden Ecology Team) or e-mail gbw@bto.org
If you then decide to join the scheme the annual subscription is £15. For this you get one of the best books on the subject "Garden Birds and Wildlife", a quarterly magazine packed with interesting articles and access to the internet and the BTO's team of garden wildlife experts.
Interestingly, if you pay the subscription you do not have to record! This all means, fundamentally, that you have the opportunity of contributing valuable information that can help in the conservation of wildlife. 15,000 other people do and I can promise you that you will not regret such a move.
Chart-topping Highland gardens
THE highlight of the week was in fact the latest analysis of Highland garden birds sent to me by the BTO. They are based on the records collected in 2010 from areas of Britain where at least 40 gardens were submitted.
The top five regions were presented in the tables. Some of the results are fascinating. For example, during an average week sparrowhawks occupied almost a fifth of the Garden BirdWatch gardens in the Highlands. This is the highest for any GBW region. As for siskins and yellowhammers it should come as no surprise that those in the Highlands were far higher than other regions. The siskin came out at over 50 per cent with the nearest being Devon with just over 13 per cent. Likewise, the yellowhammer was at nearly 16 per cent and the nearest is in Cumbria at nearly eight per cent.
The information on the greenfinch was also interesting as, despite the decline of them due to the disease trichomonosis, the Highlands remains a stronghold for them with over 70 per cent of gardens occupied.
Two other species where the Highlands leads the way are the chaffinch at over 90 per cent and, perhaps surprisingly, the tree creeper comes out top of the list at over six per cent.
