Over the summer we get lots of people writing to us wondering why all the birds seem to have disappeared from their gardens. During spring, gardens are full of birds flying back and forth as they build their nests or hanging around the bird feeders eating you out of house and home. The dawn chorus is at its loudest with birds waking you up with their song at the glimmer of first light.
But come July and August it all suddenly goes quiet. Your feeders are empty and there is little birdsong to be heard.
Birds sing in spring to defend their territories and to attract mates. Although some birds raise several broods of chicks in a year, by June most egg-laying is finished and birds will stop singing, conserving the energy they need to raise their young. This can happen quite suddenly, and the sudden cessation of early morning bird song can make it seem as though birds have disappeared.
Later in the summer as well as not hearing any song you may stop seeing birds altogether. Although young birds may have been encouraged to leave your garden by their parents to find new territories adult birds disappear for another reason.
After breeding season many garden birds go into moult, as a result of hormonal changes brought about by the change in season. The stresses of breeding season can leave birds with tired feathers so during moult they lose any old feathers which may be worn out or damaged and replace them with strong new ones ready for the winter when it’s important that their feathers are in optimal condition to keep them warm. Juvenile birds will also lose their young plumage and grow adult feathers.
During moult birds are vulnerable and instead of spending time out in the open, they will hide in hedges and bushes out of the way of predators which they will find it harder to fly away from. Completing a moult can take up to eight weeks and during this time you may not see many garden birds.
In the summer months, birds’ natural food sources will be abundant so they may not need to visit your garden for food, preferring instead to eat seeds, grasses, fruit, berries, and insects. Some garden birds will venture back out into the countryside, while others will visit parks and other open spaces in search of food. You may wish to stop feeding birds in the summer or put out less food. This will prevent it spoiling in the heat which can attract rats and other pests.
If you have a bird bath then it’s important to keep this topped up so any birds who do visit have fresh water to drink and bathe in. On hot days you might see a bird lying on the ground with its feathers spread out. Although it may look as though it’s sick the chances are it’s sunbathing, not to get a tan but to help with feather maintenance, or even simply for pleasure.
The final reason birds can disappear from your garden is that a predator has moved into the vicinity. A sparrowhawk may have taken up nearby residence or cats may have become more active in the neighbourhood. Birds need to feel safe so if they think that they will be attacked in your garden they will move away.
Whatever the reason for their disappearance, once the days start getting cooler and shorter, and natural food sources start to become scarce the birds will return. As long as they have food to eat and somewhere safe to shelter they will come back ready to fatten themselves up over autumn and winter ready for the beginning of breeding season next year.
148 Responses
Hi all, is it just me or has anyone else noticed that the hedgerows and trees where ever you go are super laden with berries and there are no birds smaller than pigeons about in the gardens?
Rob, near Oswestry ,Shropshire
Have we finally done it? Have we tipped nature beyond repair? My garden also is empty. Cursing and cussing all the cats and getting angry at my neighbors for letting them out maybe I was wrong after reading all the comments. The silence in the morning is deafening except for the sea gulls, the odd crow and pigeon
Bournemouth bird lover here.
I have the same situation. Over the last 2 years, we have gone from having a garden bustling with a wide variety of birds, to one where there are virtually none. We live in the country, near to woodland and plenty of hedges and there have been no significant changes to farming, that I am aware of. Something much more serious than changes in domestic cat or birds of prey populations is happening. Very worrying.
Sorry i dont buy any of your points i have been a birdwatcher for about 75 years, and i have noticed a dramatic decline not just in garden birds but birds everywhere. I used to expect to see at least 25/30 species in my garden for about 40 years, but now lucky to see 10 ,not only that very few flying overhead except corvids and red kites, also very few sightings when out & about, as there there have not been farms here for a number of years so that cant be the cause, are the new types of motor fuels killing the insects which are all in serious as much as 60% according to the RSPB.
Same in Swindon. All we get in the garden now and round about are pigeons, magpies, seagulls and the occasional crow. Not even a starling or blackbird. Have hung out a seed feeder but not gone down in over three weeks. This is a cat light neighbourhood (our own cat is largely indoor and was never a big hunter), though there are a number of urban foxes hanging around. Crying shame, really.
We live in Oxfordshire and have a garden full of birds but no more. Feathers around the garden and dead birds and a sparrow hawk seen locally means we have no birds anymore and that makes me sad. We used to have blackbirds robins etc all the time none now .
I live in the woods in a cottage in the middle of three large unused old abandoned graveyards, it’s usually so noisy with bird song and very hectic with small birds on my bird table and feeders, it’s so busy I have to top up food 3 times a day, but all of a sudden nothing hardly nothing is visiting and even all the squirrels and other wildlife has disappeared more than most years, I understand they go back to nature and hide during the moult but I’m in the middle of nature and this year seems different and less of everything a lot earlier too. From the United Kingdom
The reason I visited this site is because I too was wondering why all the birds have suddenly left my garden. I usually feed them twice a day and the food goes quite quickly, but for the past week the food hasn’t been touched. I have never noticed this happen before and I miss them
Exactly the same. I miss them although we do have a hedgehog that visits every night which is brilliant.
Concerned about the disappearance here too. We live in a semi rural spot and have 8 pairs of nesting sparrows that live in our garden all year and have done for many years. They have just vanished along with all the other visiting small birds. Even when moulting I can usually see a few hopping through the hedges. But now there is nothing. It doesn’t feel right at all.
I’m mystified. Our robins and a pair of cardinals gone and it’s May 22, 2024! Both robin’s nests abandoned with eggs. Every year they lay eggs under our deck – two clutches in summer. Plenty of food, worms, berries and seed. We live in the Twin Cities, MN. It’s very quiet and we don’t like it. I miss watching their busyness.