Population counts winter birds
Great tit most common in gardens
Great tits were sighted in almost nine out of ten Swiss gardens and parks during a multi-day bird count. According to the interim balance, however, the house sparrow continued to dominate in absolute numbers.
Volunteers were able to discover great tits in almost 90 percent of Swiss gardens and parks. (archive image)
The more than 400 volunteers in the “Hour of the Winter Birds” campaign counted 1,125 house sparrows, as Birdlife Luzern announced on Sunday. This was followed by carrion crows with 1021 specimens and tree sparrows with at least 665 counted birds – ducks are not included in this ranking.
In terms of distribution, the house sparrow did not make it onto the podium; it was only sighted in just over 60 percent of the gardens at the census. The great tit (87 percent) was followed in this category by the blue tit (79 percent) and the blackbird (76 percent).
When last year was counted, the blackbird was still at the top of the most common birds, followed by the great tit and blue tit. In absolute numbers, house sparrows and carrion crows took the first two places as early as 2022, followed by chaffinch.
As Birdlife Luzern wrote in the announcement, the mild winter has left its mark. A number of species that normally spend the winter in the Mediterranean region have been observed. These so-called short-distance migrants included the wagtail, black redstart, dunnock, song thrush, firecrest and chiffchaff.
The Hour of the Winter Birds campaign lasted from Thursday to this Sunday. Participants were still able to enter their observations on Sunday evening on the dedicated website, so numbers and rankings are subject to change.
(SDA)