It was with surprise that I looked out of my central London window a few weeks ago to see a pair of blackbirds making a nest on my balcony.  Whether it was years of London blindness to nature or a sudden jolt from a distant memory of a childhood in the countryside, this was not something to be surprised about was it?  The truth of the matter is that with the exception of the odd walk on Hampstead Heath or Regents Park you see nothing but pigeons in London and here was a pair of blackbirds nesting on my balcony.

I have read the papers over the past year mourning the decline of the garden bird which has been put at a 20% decline in just 4 years so are things now on the up?  It seems that changes are afoot and while birds such as the Sparrow have declined sharply others such as some tits are on the rise.  The sharp decline of the Sparrow however is cause for concern as the Sparrow is happy living in close proximity to humans and until recently was common across our large city centres.

A number of factors affect the numbers of birds; which will always fluctuate slightly as different birds prefer different conditions.  It seems that the Sparrow has suffered particularly as gardens disappear and lack of suitable nesting sites dwindles.  Climate change also plays a part with the warmer winters “tricking” some birds into breeding too early and playing around with availability of different food sources for birds.

So what about my Blackbirds?  It seems that the wet winter might have helped them out as dry weather pushes their main food, earth worms, deep down out of reach so the wet weather has provided them worms!

What can you do to help?

With suitable nesting sites on the decline an easy way to help is the siting of a nestbox.  Nestboxes are a great substitute for holes in trees.  Also especially through these cold snaps we have been having putting out food can make all the difference.  If you are a flat dweller like me then you can now buy window feeders so even if you are gardenless you can feed the birds.  With Nesting season starting now is the perfect time to put up a nest box.  Over 60 species of birds have been known to use them.

By Ben Wigley at Biggreensmile.com