Springtime just arrived (southern hemisphere) and I just realized that i see a lot less pigeons than i used to.

They used to stop by on my AC and be ever present around the restaurants across the street.
A few days ago we sat at the Italian Restaurant and I wondered where they’d gone.

Any significant changes up North?

0-0

Big decline in Hummingbird population locally. Resident Bluejays, Cardinals and Mockingbirds seem normal.

we live semi-rural.....bird-life from hummers to 'wild' turkeys are very similar to past decades

Not enough to say it's a startling or disturbing decline, but I do feel like I see less birds now across the board than I did 10-20 years ago.

Less. Unfortunately bird population globally has been dropping for years.

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Springtime just arrived (southern hemisphere) and I just realized that i see a lot less pigeons than i used to.

They are all in my backyard Hoovering up the seeds that the songbirds spill out of the feeder.

We have actually seen many more birds this year than in previous years. Must be global warming!

Did not see one hummingbird all summer.
Put the feeders away a couple months ago.
The other birds seem normal.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:

quote:

Originally posted by 0-0:
Springtime just arrived (southern hemisphere) and I just realized that i see a lot less pigeons than i used to.

They are all in my backyard Hoovering up the seeds that the songbirds spill out of the feeder.

We have actually seen many more birds this year than in previous years. Must be global warming!

Same here. Wife insists on a bird feeder.

Less, mostly sparrows these days. Hardly ever see butterflies, either.

Half as many as three years ago

The number of house finches which we have had by the dozens for years at the feeders dropped by at least half this year. On the other hand, we have never seen as many cardinals as this year. Hummingbirds were minimal this year, recent years we have had at least 6 or 8 that claimed our feeders and provided tons of entertainment.

Hummingbird pop here in Central Alabama has been plentiful but Blue Jays, Cardinals and Dove pop seems down this year. I vaguely recall hearing that their was some type of bird flu or virus going around though as we were encouraged not to keep our bird feeders stocked. Anyone hear anything similar?

I’ve been tuned in for many years, I’ll go with a big decline. It varies with species, types of birds, some effected much more than others.


A few minutes on Google will show numbers.

My usual crew (Chickadees, Goldfinches, Nuthatches) have been going crazy, emptying my feeder daily. Maybe the sign of bad winter? No reduction in the number of birds for me. In an unusual occurrence, a small flock of Crows have been eating the spilled seed the other birds kick out of the feeder. In years past, Crows have been present around the yard but had no interest in the seed. I feed black oil sunflower seed only.

Bird populations are down around here due to West Nile virus.

My experience is the same as YooperSigs. Plenty of birds eating about 50ish pounds of seed every other week or so. Mix of Chickadee's, House and Gold Finches, Dove, Cardinals, Titmice, Carolina Wren's. Eastern Bluebirds have nested and reared 2 separate batches that have now moved on. At one point I had about 30 or so and it was fun watching them. Also had some Summer Tanager's and Cuckoo birds for the first time this year. Blue Jays were plentiful at the beginning of spring and I am surrounded by tons of woodpeckers and flickers.

We don’t see hummingbirds here in central Texas like we saw in NC, I think it’s because we don’t have the same vegetation-we had crepe myrtles in NC and the little guys would flit about in the tree branches, it was mesmerizing…

I know they move thru out area while migrating, and we e put out feeders, it none in 4 years…

Maybe I should plant a few of the crepe myrtles…

We have as many birds here as anytime in the past 10 years we’ve lived here, maybe more. I haven’t seen many hummingbirds, but the feeder has been going empty at a record rate, so I know they are out there.

At least as many as always. I'd almost say more than normal.

 
We always have a plentiful supply here, but the species count varies by year. Last year, for the first time in 20 years, our most populous species, the cactus wren, was almost absent. This year, there are plenty. They can loud and annoying. If you leave a door open, they make themselves at home in your house. Very inquisitive birds.
 
Our usual population of dove (white wing and mourning) remains strong every year. Missing this year are the invasive collared (Eurasian) dove. No loss there.
 
Gambel's quail, strong every year.
 
Sighting this year for the first time are a male and female cardinal.