This weekend I will be taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, an annual bird count that has been taking place for the last 30 years. All you have to do is spend an hour this weekend counting how many of each bird you see in your garden at any one time. The top three birds counted in Western Isles gardens last year were the Starling, House Sparrow and Blackbird which was quite similar to the UK top three which placed sparrows in number 1 spot. Over the last thirty years the bird watch has highlighted major changes in garden bird numbers, nationally the average number of birds seen in each garden has declined by 20% since 2004. Since the survey started there have been major declines nationally of Song Thrush, Sparrows and Starling, since 1979 sparrows have decreased by 65% and Starlings by 75%. However there have been increases in the number of Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons being seen as well as some more unusual birds.
Red Deer have also been in the news this week as a group of researchers from Edinburgh University have been looking at the rate of cross breeding with Sika deer. It has been known about for some time but it is now thought that around 40% of deer on the mainland are cross bred. We are lucky on the islands that legislation has been put in place to protect deer populations, if the current mainland trend continues it may soon be the case that the islands will be the only place people will be able to see genetically pure red deer. Hopefully this research will allow new measures to be put in place in order to better protect one of Scotland’s most symbolic creatures.
You can read more this story on the BBC website
