Winter census: fewer birds in Saxony's gardens

Birds are becoming increasingly rare in Saxony's gardens - these are the results of a census by the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (Nabu). An average of around 34 birds per garden or park were reported during the "Hour of the Winter Birds" campaign. In 2011, there were still around 47, indicating a clear downward trend, explained Nabu nature conservation expert Julian Heiermann.

In total, more than 149,000 birds were reported in 4,399 gardens in Saxony. As in previous years, the house sparrow, also known as the sparrow, was counted most frequently. Nevertheless, the species recorded a decline compared to the previous year: Nabu speaks of an average of 17 percent fewer sightings per garden. Nationwide, the decline is 15 percent. The tree sparrow, in fourth place in the Saxon ranking, recorded a drop of 22 percent. This means that the decline in Saxony is significantly higher than the national average, which is down by ten percent.

More great tits and blackbirds sighted

In contrast, the number of great tits and blackbirds has hardly changed. After the sharp drop in numbers last year, four percent more blackbirds were counted. The great tit and blue tit were also sighted slightly more frequently. This also corresponds to the German average.

During the "Hour of Winter Birds" campaign, people were asked to count the birds at feeders, in the garden, on the balcony or in the park for one hour on the weekend of January 9 to 11 - and note the highest number of each species seen within one hour. This time, the campaign was characterized by severe winter weather.