What birds were common when you were young and now are rare? (1 Viewer)

[Sedgley]

I have fond memories of skylarks on nearby Penn Common, but sadly they are no longer.

On the other ahnd we have seen a massive gain with the common buzzard. It hasn't been that long ago you had to go to Wales to see one, now they are relatively easy to spot even in the West Midlands conurbation.

 

[Allen S. Moore]

For me, I remember corncrakes calling in a few places here in the west of the Isle of Man when I was a boy, but they were on the way out then, with the last year of continuous breeding 1976. I remember when I was 10 or 11, August 1967 or 8, walking along with my parents and seeing a bird sitting in the middle of a field at the edge of Ballasalla in the SE of the Island. I hopped over the fence, walked over, picked up the bird, a corncrake, admired the chestnut wing patches and showed the bird to my parents, and opened my hands to let it go. It flew back to where it had been standing before. No, it wasn't nesting. I can't do that any more (hopping over fences, that is!).

 

[mudman]

In my of East Yorkshire the two species which immediately come to my mind are grey partridge and lesser redpoll. Both have declined drastically, there are some grey partridge hanging on in a few favoured areas but I have not seen a redpoll in years.

I was brought up in the city and remember both reed bunting and spotted flycatcher being common in the garden. This was because behind the house was a large industrial wasteland (i.e wildlife paradise, no agricultural sprays). They built houses on the wasteland and all the more interesting species disappeared.

 

[Touty]

Hi,
Particular birds that spring to mind from my youth in 60's, early 70's in North Herts are esp Sparrow hawk. Yep I know there a little more common these days, but did spend a while hardly seeing any. Still a joy to watch. Also previously mentioned corn buntings (in thier 100's on occasions) bullfinches, bramblings, sky larks, house sparrows (in their 100's) starlings around the houses where I lived in Liverpool early 60's(in their 1000's) Greenfinch flocks 40+ in Liverpool garden every winter for 2 - 3 months.
Barn owls another whilst I was at Uni (mid 70's) A wander in local countryside at dusk or dawn would often realise a barnie. Perhaps I don't find myself staggering home from parties at 5am these days so perhaps the world is still full of barn owls. Having said that, have only seen 2 tawny owls this year whereas loads of Littles. Used to be the other way round.
Jono

I'd echo Jonathan's post though I think the worst is past. Linnet was incredibly common in south Herts when I was a nipper, but also House Sparrows doing those amazing multi-occupancy 'weaver bird' nests in big, overmature hawthorn trees with '000s of them in the barley fields in the autumn. Can you imagine them getting away with those nests these days with all the magpies? Spanish and House Sparrows still do it not far from here in Istria (Croatia). Do they nest in bushes anywhere in UK any more?

 

[Touty]

We regularly had House Martin nests on our house and those of the neighbours. I pass that way regularly and not one house has nests these days.
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Glenn

House Martins are a big 'gonner' too in SE Herts. When I pop back in the summer I have to go to the small villages (like Roydon in Essex) to find just a pair or too. Finding the remaining pairs fits in well with country pub drinking. 'Just out to find some House Martins mum!'

Swifts are holding up better. Strangely, if I sit outside my parents' house with a glass of wine on a July evening I usually have to wait about 10 minutes before I see a Hobby, 20 minutes for a Swift. I saw my first UK Hobby at Weeting Heath in '76 (after 4 years of birding) and my first Herts Hobby in '83. I think the 'down' in House Martins and the 'up' in Hobbies are related. Hobbies are as common as muck now in Herts. Every decent wood has a pair and an evening out in open country and the species is a cert.

Oh... and if anyone says 'Well if House Martins are so rare how come a predator like the Hobby is doing so well?' To them I say: 'To a Hobby a HM is like a kebab.... a welcome treat but you wouldn't starve if Tayyab's Kebab House closed, would you?' Every time I watch Hobbies now they're feeding on insects until the young Swifts fledge.

 

[hil5]

I'd echo Jonathan's post though I think the worst is past. Linnet was incredibly common in south Herts when I was a nipper, but also House Sparrows doing those amazing multi-occupancy 'weaver bird' nests in big, overmature hawthorn trees with '000s of them in the barley fields in the autumn. Can you imagine them getting away with those nests these days with all the magpies? Spanish and House Sparrows still do it not far from here in Istria (Croatia). Do they nest in bushes anywhere in UK any more?

No I don't think house sparrows nest in bushes much these days. I think the changes to roof design (so they can't nest in them) could be part of their decline.

 

[Angelface]

Hi all,

As a child in the 50's I remember a lot more Song Thrush, Tree Sparrow and definitely hearing a lot more of the Cuckoo. No Collared Doves whatsoever and an occasional Magpie.

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Chrissie

 

[the bird]

not exactly common - but there were definately more lesser spotted woody woodpeckers around even when I was younger.


Haven't seen one now for years.

 

[Andrew Whitehouse]

I grew up in Northamptonshire and can remember birds back to the late 1970s. I don't get back too often now but my impression is of the following for that area:

Losses:

Grey Partridge
Little Ringed Plover
Lapwing
Snipe
Curlew
Woodcock
Cuckoo
Turtle Dove
Lesser-spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
House Martin
Tree Pipit
Yellow Wagtail
Nightingale
Grasshopper Warbler
Willow Warbler
Spotted Flycatcher
Willow Tit
Starling
House Sparrow
Lesser Redpoll
Reed Bunting
Corn Bunting

Gains:

Cormorant
Little Egret (although still fairly rare)
Smew (ditto)
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Red Kite (reintroduced)
Peregrine
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Common Tern
Collared Dove
Green Woodpecker
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Cetti's Warbler
Magpie

 

[DJW]

As a child in the 1950's I remember my mother taking me on frequent shopping trips to Birmingham City Centre. Whilst waiting for the bus home at dusk, particularly during the winter months, I will never forget the huge number of starlings that came into the city centre at night to roost. The noise and the mess were amazing.

The memory was brought back to me this weekend when I drove to Kingston Seymour in Somerset to see the Upland Sandpiper only to discover it had disappeared! In consolation I went to Westhay Moor to see the starling roost which was an incredible spectacle, and evoked memories of those days long ago in Brum.

Regards

Dave

 

[Andy Wilson]

House and Tree Sparrows

I can't remember the last time I saw a Tree Sparrow and last week was the first time I've noticed a House Sparrow in weeks if not months.

As a kid (in the 60's) both Tree and House Sparrows were numerous in my parents garden, nesting side by side in decaying ivy clad siver birch tree trunks and in the roof of our home.

 

[Larry Lade]

This thread seems to be entirely British, but I might mention that when I talk with some of the "old timers" here in the US that they do say that overall the bird populations are down. Some say that it is especially evident among the various warbler species. I think some of this is just remembering the "good old days". But, at the same time, some bird populations, I believe, are down. This possibly attributable to loss of habitat and various other factors.

(65-8=57, just doing a little math!) I have been "watching birds" for over 55 years, I guess, and I did not really take too much notice of the number of birds in those early years. Only in recent years have I paid more attention to bird numbers. We do seem to have greater numbers of swallows, blackbirds, starlings, robins and woodpeckers now than in years past (at least in my estimation).

 

[Glenn McColl]

Going the other way ie. what birds have increased in numbers over the years I was surprised to hear on a TV programme that Collared Doves were a great rarity in this country in the 1950's.Now I can see several every day from my bedroom window.Are these birds the champion colonisers in the UK?

Max.

I believe the first Collared Dove wasn't found in Britain until 1954,first confirmed breeding in Norfolk (Cromer) in 1955.By the mid 60s they had spread to 40 counties. This followed on from an amazing westward expansion across Europe. Prior to 1930 they were confined to SE Europe, the Balkans and Turkey.

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Glenn

 

[pauco]

The most common for me in the early 60's, were.

Bullfinch

Yellowhammer

Cornbunting

Treesparrow

And another good old country bird, the "butcher bird" Great Grey Shrike.

These birds were abundant. Alas not anymore.

So yes getting rare to see.