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SongBird Survival

SongBird Survival is an independent UK environmental bird charity that funds research into the alarming decline in Britain’s much cherished songbirds. With your support we hope to draw attention to the plight of our song and other small birds and fund research into the causes of their decline in order to help promote solutions to restore songbird numbers.

www.songbird-survival.org.uk Fundraise for us
dawn-chorus@songbird-survival.org.uk

01379 641715

Registered charity no. 1085281

Member since February 2018

Latest News

NATIONAL ROBIN DAY - THE ANNUAL AWARENESS DAY FOR SONGBIRD SURVIVAL - 21st December

NATIONAL ROBIN DAY - THE ANNUAL AWARENESS DAY FOR SONGBIRD SURVIVAL - 21st December

Celebrate National Robin Day on 21st December

Make a promise to help songbirds survive winter in your garden this winter.

This National Robin Day show your love and support of songbirds. Pledge with Charity SongBird Survival to do one small thing to help our feathered friends survive the harsh winter months.

At this time of year, even the UK’s favourite bird and a festive icon, the robin, struggles like other songbirds. Temperatures drop and natural food supplies wane.

One fun way to help is to stir up a seed cake for our garden birds. SongBird Survival have a thrifty recipe for one cake that could feed a pair of robins in your garden for 24 days. The treat will cost about 26p per cake. It takes around 10-15 minutes to make. You can use an empty yoghurt pot as a ready-made container.

SongBird Survival will be sharing top tips throughout December to help you encourage more beautiful songbirds to your garden. You can do this by providing the right food, water and shelter. You can even help without access to a garden. Even a small dish of water on a windowsill can help a thirsty bird this winter. You can also share your best photos of robins and songbirds you have spotted on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook through #NationalRobinDay.

Sue Morgan, Chief Executive of SongBird Survival said: “National Robin Day is a chance to celebrate the comfort and joy that songbirds bring us in the festive season. It also helps us raise awareness that our beautiful native wildlife, and our dawn chorus, is under threat. This December, join us to take one simple action at home that could make a big difference”.

Birds also play a critical part of the ecosystem in the UK. Birds help disperse seeds and recycle nutrients.

You can pledge to take part in National Robin Day at: https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/campaign/national-robin-day You’ll receive emails with tailored tips to help you make a difference in December. You can also find downloadable ‘How to guides’ including how to make a seed cake.

SongBird Survival will share tips, advice and photos throughout December on social media with #NationalRobinDay at:

https://www.facebook.com/NationalRobin/

https://www.instagram.com/songbirdsurvival/

https://twitter.com/NationalRobin

In the 1960s, in a vote publicised by The Times, the robin was adopted as the unofficial national bird of the United Kingdom. In 2015, the robin was again voted Britain's national bird in a poll organised by birdwatcher David Lindo. More than 224,000 people cast their ballot in the National Bird Vote with robin taking 34%.

This is the seventh year SongBird Survival have run National Robin Day.

NEW RESEARCH PAPER PUBLISHED! - Feb 2023

NEW RESEARCH PAPER PUBLISHED! - Feb 2023

Our fantastic team at the University of Sussex have published a new research paper in the journal Science of the Total Environment, find that paper here.

The paper “Habitat quality, urbanisation & pesticides influence bird abundance and richness in gardens” investigated bird-friendly features in domestic gardens and looks at the use of pesticides in gardening and the effects these have on our common garden songbirds.

Cannelle Tassin de Montaigu, the lead author, has also featured her research in our blog, check that out for more information.

GARDENS FOR BIRDS - Campaign 2023

GARDENS FOR BIRDS - Campaign 2023

Gardening expert, Toby Buckland gives 10 tips to help birds in your garden.

‍Award winning garden designer, former Gardeners World presenter and broadcaster Toby Buckland is backing charity campaign by sharing 10 top tips to help birds this Spring

SongBird Survival  launched a year round campaign - Gardens for Birds,  a one stop shop to support gardeners with free advice and tips to help birds thrive in their garden.

More than half of the UK’s songbirds are threatened or in decline

‍Award winning garden designer, TV and radio presenter, Toby Buckland wants us to think about we can create a refuge for birds in our gardens too. Toby is backing a national campaign by charity SongBird Survival based on their scientific research into how gardeners can help birds thrive through wildlife-friendly gardening. More than half of our UK songbirds are threatened or already in decline. Numbers have fallen 50% in 50 years.

Gardens cover an area bigger than all of our national parks combined. 87% of British homes have gardens, equalling around 22.7 million outdoor spaces. This covers an area of 2.5 times the size of London. The natural habitat for songbirds is being eroded and gardens can be a refuge to help save threatened UK songbirds.‍

TOBY'S TEN TOP TIPS FOR ENCOURAGING BIRDS TO YOUR GARDEN THIS SPRING:

1. Create a water source: Even a simple bird bath can make a big difference. Clean and change its water regularly. If you have room, a small pond can help provide snails and insects, which are ideal food for birds.

2. Be natural and ditch the pesticides: Recent research, funded by SongBird Survival from the University of Sussex, found that bird populations in gardens plummeted by up to 40 percent where pesticides were present. Favourite species like the house sparrow, chaffinch, great tit and blackbird vanish in huge numbers where chemical weedkillers and slug pellets are used. Try companion planting – planting certain plant combinations to help keep pests down, or natural remedies. Dried seaweed is a good choice for deterring slugs as it is high in salt, or you can make some good old-fashioned garlic spray to deter aphids.

3. Give shelter: All of our wildlife needs somewhere they can be safe. You can provide nest boxes, bee hotels, or even arrange a pile of fallen leaves, twigs and branches as a makeshift shelter for birds, small mammals and insects.

4. Help birds nest: Birds are always on the hunt for nesting materials in springtime. Why not plant some long grasses like feather reed grass, moor grass or elephant grass to help them out? Alternatively, leave grass and leaf clippings to one side for birds to take to pad out their nests.

5. Enjoy lots of flowers: Aim to have flowers in your garden for as many months of the year as possible for bees, especially early in the year when queens awake from hibernation. Pulmonaria and viola are great for this.

6. Plant natural food: Select plants that flower and fruit that birds love to eat, and you can provide food year-round. Great natural food choices include common elder, rowan, and guelder rose. When it comes to Winter, you can also help by placing a feeder in your garden at regular times, this means birds don’t have to spend lots of extra energy finding food. It can help birds get through the worst of cold snaps.

7. Think about your cats: If you have cats, you can protect birds by using hanging feeders, away from any perches that cats may pounce from. Try to locate feeders as far away as possible from any nest boxes, to stop a predator from finding the location of their chicks or eggs. SongBird Survival research has also found that playing with your cat just five minutes a day can reduce their hunting.

8. Keep feeders and bird baths clean: Keeping any feeders or bird baths clean and refreshed regularly is top priority to stop disease spreading.

9. Be low maintenance: Why not try leaving your lawn long in your garden to encourage pollinators? No Mow May encourages you to leave your lawnmower in the shed all month so you can see your lawns spring to life with flowers, bees and other pollinators. Or could you reduce the amount of pruning in your garden? By letting seedheads develop, you provide food in the Autumn and Winter months for birds.

10. Make the most of even a small space: Creative use of garden space can have great results for the look of your garden and our ecosystem. For those who have small spaces, or a balcony, you can still attract wildlife by providing potted plants, climbers, feeders and small shelters.

The charity also has educational resources for children to encourage their love of nature. Visit www.songbird-survival.org.uk to make a promise to help birds and for free downloads and free gardening tips each month by email.

Commenting on how gardeners can help, Toby said: “Wildlife friendly gardens don't have to be boring or informal. You can make your garden both a safe haven for birds and a space that you love spending time in. This Spring, make some small changes that could see you enjoying many more birds to your garden this year and protecting our beautiful wildlife”.

_Susan Morgan, SongBird Survival’s CEO added: “These past few years more than ever, many of us have taken solace in our gardens and outdoor space, with a much greater appreciation of the joy the dawn chorus can bring. With research showcasing the drastic declines of insect life and songbirds in our country, it is our job to open our gardens to wildlife and invite them in. Whatever the size of your outdoor space, whatever your skill in gardening, you can make a difference.”  _

Tune in for Toby’s regular gardening advice on BBC Radio Devon, every Sunday at 10am.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

SongBird Survival is the only charity in the UK dedicated solely to halting and reversing the alarming population decline of songbirds and other small birds. It does this by supporting research carried out by experts at top universities and conservation organisations in the UK into the cause of the decline and promoting the solutions. More information is available at: https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/

SongBird Survival will launch its campaign to share tips, advice and photos from 20th March on social media with #GardensforBirds and #thinkbirds at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SongBirdSOS/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SongBirdSOS

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/songbirdsos/

SongBird Survival can provide media outlets with further expert advice on helping birds in gardens and spokespeople are available for interview.

The charity will be working with gardening influencers on social media to share their reflections on how to create songbird-friendly gardens.

SongBird Survival provide seasonal advice to help people help birds at home throughout the year. This includes activities to mark International Dawn Chorus Day on Sunday 7th May 2023. The charity also runs the popular National Robin Day on 21st December, which raises awareness of how to help birds during the Winter.

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:

For all enquiries, including interview requests and his-res images, please contact:

Helen Deakin: Email: pr@songbird-survival.org.uk Phone: 07501 427418

Susan Morgan: Email: Susan@songbird-survival.org.uk