A total of 47,750 bird counters included garden birds in Flanders. According to the preliminary figures, 777,168 birds were counted in 25,093 gardens. With an average of 23 birds of seven species per garden, the number of birds remains the same as last year. With 47,750 bird counters, in both schools and at home, that number is lower than last year (79,300), but higher than in 2020 (44,672).
“The house sparrow retains its first place. But the numbers have decreased in recent years, so we must continue to focus on hiding and breeding places if we really want to save them,” says Gerald Driessens, bird expert at Natuurpunt. The weekend was quite pleasant, with even a lot of sun on Sunday. We didn’t get huge invasions of winter birds from the north, though.
“We knew to some extent that it was mainly the resident birds that would determine the race, and the small shifts that have started to show up in recent years also seem to continue. sat four, now slumped to sixth place”. The Collared Dove also seems to have reached its peak. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like we will be able to regain the blackbird after its deep crash due to the usutu virus some five years ago.”
The final results will appear in a comprehensive report at the end of this month.
The top 10 most counted birds in Flemish gardens:
(Between brackets the ranking of 2021)
1. house sparrow (1)
2. great tit (2)
3. tick (3)
4. blue tit (6)
5. wood pigeon (7)
6. chew (4)
7. blackbird (7)
8. Collared Dove (8)
9. magpie (9)
10. starling (11)