How long do british garden birds live

How long does a bird live is one of the questions ornithologists are always being asked and there is not a simple answer. Find out how long-lived some of your garden birds are.

Read this article to find out how when and why birds migrate.

How long do british garden birds live. Most common garden birds have an average age of between 2 and 5 years. However the maximum lifespan recorded for many of these birds is much higher. For example the average age of a blue tit is 27 years but the oldest recorded was over 21 years old.

The oldest recorded bird in the UK was a Manx shearwater which was 52. The table below shows the average and reported longest life spans for some of our common wild garden birds not captive birds which can live much longer. Average years Oldest years Blackbird.

Contrary to popular belief most adult small garden birds in Britain live only for around 1¼ to 1½ years. How long does a bird live is one of the questions ornithologists are always being asked and there is not a simple answer. There is a great difference between the various types of bird and there is a great difference between the averagelength of life and the greatestlength of life.

Whilst the longevity of birds is interesting enough perhaps we should be more concerned at the AVERAGE life span. Im sure I read somewhere that the average life span of a Blue Tit is only 18 months. If this is true of most of our smaller garden birds then the obvious conclusion is that they would only get one opportunity to breed.

Find out how long-lived some of your garden birds are. Migration For many of the birds in our garden migration is a way of life and yet to us it seems a colossal undertaking. Read this article to find out how when and why birds migrate.

Sent in by Rita Jones Lincolnshire Blackbirds are relatively short-lived birds with a life expectancy of only 34 years. Of course this is only the average life expectancy and the actual age of an individual blackbird is highly variable with many not surviving their first year whilst the oldest blackbird recorded was 20 years and 3 months old. Crows are medium to large birds.

Many species are black or black and grey. Others are more colourful or well-patterned. Most crows are adaptable but often shy where persecuted.

In towns some become tame and may visit gardens. They all have strong scaly feet and stout or downcurved bills mostly with a small patch of. At 5 am today I could distinctly hear five birds rather than a joyful cacophany.

Birds are certainly having a rehearsal at the moment and the joyful cacophany is merely waiting in the wings. Some birds will have been singing for several weeks with blackbirds and robins being joined by song thrushes as they defend territory and attract mates. Bird mortality is generally highest in the first year after hatching and ornithologists estimate that 80-90 percent of baby birds do not live to maturity.

Consider that one mated pair of birds may raise multiple broods that could add up to 15-20 or more new birds each year. If mortality was not dramatically high bird overpopulation would be a serious issue. British Garden Birds is dedicated to helping garden birdwatchers to identify and enjoy the birds that visit their gardens and to understand the birds lives and behaviour.

July is when waterfowl like Mallards lose all of their flight feathers at once and so cannot fly. We currently have a wren nesting in one of our garden nest boxes 2372017 judgeing by the date it is a second brood cannot stop watching and listening to heror is it him or both They dont bother about us in the garden but if you loiter to long near the nest box my goodness do you get told off. Do they both feed the young.

The males live up to their name but confusingly females are brown often with spots and streaks on their breasts. The bright orange-yellow beak and eye-ring make adult male blackbirds one of the most striking garden birds. One of the most common UK birds its mellow song is also a favourite.

The breeding season usually begins in March although if the winter has been mild it can begin as early as January. The female robin builds a cup-shaped nest using moss hair grass and dead leaves somewhere on or close to the ground. Robins begin laying their eggs between mid-April and mid-August and a clutch is made up of around 46 eggs.

These insects are black or dark brown and nest in soil lawns at the base of walls or under flat stones. Ants are social insects. They live in colonies that consist mainly of workers sterile wingless females.

In July and August winged males and females emerge for mating flights. They are about twice the size of the workers. Robins rarely live longer than two years.

Indeed the majority are dead by the time winter is over. At this time of year robins have just one aim. To survive until spring.

If they do they will be able to breed and pass on their genetic heritage to the next generation. The only immortality this short-lived bird can hope to achieve.