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
starlings come every year and nest in the eves of my roof but this year they still have not arrived was worried about them
I live in a small farming village in North Wales. The same is happening here. Garden was always full of birds. We do have a very large rookery nearby. I was wondering if that is the reason for lack of small birds.
I’ve noticed this too in my garden – I’ve just been out just after dawn to see if there were any singing. Maybe a blackbird, but nothing else. I’ve seen a gradual decline of everything bar most Corvids and the odd robin. I thought it was just my garden/area but I’m obviously not the only one. Coupled with the 17 degree weather we had yesterday in Lincolnshire, I think this is frightening. Makes me sad.
Around were i live in Winster no wonder the population has declined.simlpe people put bird feeders out. But all you get round here is vermin pigeons jackdaws rooks magpies all nuisance birds .so while there around we will never have the small birds .
Me too.. I can’t find a way to put my comment on..
It’s about 12 months since my full of birds garden was suddenly empty..
Birds feeders went mouldy time after time as i kept cleaning and filling them..
My bird bath, once full of little birds, is a sad unused dish..
I used to have cats.. and no problem..
They just used to lie and watch the activity..
The last one died 3 years ago..
So I got a little yorkie.
Still no problem but suddenly 1 year ago an empty garden..
And not just mine.. I used to look out and watch the birds flit between all the gardens ..
I’ve had to stop putting food out as I was getting rats as the feeders were staying full ..
Don’t know whether to try again..
But as my bird bath is still 100% quiet probably not much point..
.
Here in NE PA, USA, I had all sorts of lovely song birds making me so very happy with their cheerful sounds and their flitting about. We have a very large window in the front room of our house and a large patio door in the back. I loved seeing and hearing the birds. Suddenly, there are NO birds—none at all. It’s so awful.
We live in North Wales and are wondering like everyone else what has happened to the birds seems so strange not seeing any in the garden.
Hi, I live in Northallerton, NYorkshire, my back garden is usually a flurry of sparrows hiding in the privet when I walk out, also the usual lovely sound of the cheeky chirpy birds, but now silence, the whole street is quiet. What has happened? Bird flu, Climate change or is it the above reasons and they will return?
I reside in Texas, USA, and my gardens have always been a sanctuary. This February, when the migrating birds left, all of our resident birds declined and then totally vacated. I have no resident birds remaining.
Many birds used to visit my garden and eat from the feeders. There were plenty of black birds, blue tits and robins some nesting in the boxes I put up for them. I even spotted (and heard) a woodpecker many times! However for the last couple of years these birds have been in decline. The last time I saw a blue tit was 2 years ago. This summer no robin and no black bird showed up. There is no more dawn chorus and the only birds i see and hear are the pigeons, the gulls, the magpies, the crows and the red kites. Where have our song birds gone?
Tiffany.
Same here for me in Co Limerick Ireland. I am feeding them 28 years all year round. Plant for them accordingly too. It was alive all spring and summer the sound takes my breath away. Yes every year it goes quite for a few weeks from early August to Mid September. And then birds return with our migratory friends too. It’s now 11th October 2022 and very different here this year. A few house sparrows, 3 female chaffinch, 5 magpies, pair of doves, crows, jackdaws, pair of predatory hawks busy right now esp today. In mid sept I noticed a house sparrow hanging around was a sign to me it wasn’t well. I kept my dogs in. Following morning I found it dead in my dogs house. But this was different this year from other sick or old birds of previous years. This bird had serious lump growths all over its body. I was so distressed by it my husband took it away I should have photographed it for evidence. I blame 5G gone up in my area and the relentless plane spraying of sky happening 7 days a week here since 1st week of April 2022. Many effects both to my garden and the wildlife that frequent it. Bee and butterfly activity troubling too this summer. Something needs to change and sooner rather than later. The silence is so eerie I miss my feathered companions.
You have answered your own question with the hawks, magpies and crows, the smaller birds don’t feel safe mainly with the hawks. Try putting your feeders near trees or bushes for a quick escape.
Forget about 5G and vape trails, they said the same rubbish about 2G,3G and 4G. Vape trails are from planes reaching their optimum speed
October now and I have filled the bird feeders again. We live in a rural area and normally see loads of birds, but there are none. Weird!
Hi Clair, I went away for two weeks, when I came home Saturday the only birds in my garden now are robins, a few blue tits and magpies. I have lived here for 37 yrs and have never known all my sparrow to have disappeared before, I had hundreds of them. Have you found a reason yet please.
Hi Pat, I live in South Wales too and it’s the same in my garden. I have lived here for 37 yrs and it’s never happened before. It is definitely very strange.
I’m so glad to have come across this page. I only recently started feeding birds at the beginning of the summer. It took a few weeks to attract them but then I had many different varieties of birds visiting daily. I would regularly have to top up the seeds every 3 days. Now NO activity at all since the middle of September. My parents have also seen the same thing in their garden and they live an hour away from me. I am based in West Cork in Ireland. Hopefully they’ll return soon..
I am glad I searched for answers to missing garden birds. So many of us noticing that something is very wrong. I have noticed that the abundance of blue tits. great tits. sparrows and a woodpecker have vanished since end of July. Crows, Magpies and Wood pigeons are all I see now, I live in South Wales UK.
I live in North Scotland near the Moray Firth, have lived here for 17 years and my garden has always been full of birds. I have a fat ball feeder which is well visited and needs filling every other day. Filled it 4 days ago and it hasn’t been touched then realised I haven’t seen a bird of any type for days. Having lived here for so long and never had this before it is quite concerning. Some of the birds have been here a long time and can recognise individually but all gone
I live in Carlisle and have had no bird activity for the last week. Very strange as I have lots of them usually on my 3 nut feeders. If other people are experiencing this then at least it’s not something I’ve done and hopefully they will return.
There are a lot of reasons for bird decline – global warming, habitat loss, pesticides, bird flu etc but the main reason for birds having to suddenly abandon an area is microwave radiation from masts and mobile phone. Thousands of studies prove that it interferes with all wildlife, causing sudden abandonment of nests and locations. The feathers act like antennae, further strenghtening the signal and increasing exposure, which increases their suffering. The beam signals from transmitters interfer with their ability to navigate so that they cannot migrate and become disorientated. If they cannot escape the radiation death follows. There used to be flocks of sparrows and all kinds of wild birds in my garden, until an antenna mast was switched on nearby and they all vanished. The only birds I found thereafter in my garden were dead ones. A few years later the mast was switched off and they returned, but in much depleted numbers. Since then there has been a steady decline. Now there are hardly any, except for pigeons and crows. As the radiation levels continue to increase it will continue to wipe out all wildlife. If we just stop using our mobile phones then the masts will disappear. Lets hope wisdom prevails so that our children and grandchildren will know the magic of birdsong.
Something must be wrong in your area….it seems we get more & more birds every year along with bees….our feeders must be filled a couple times a day. I do have them high enough that I must stretch to fill them…they seem to like them as high as possible. We are blessed with dozens upon dozens of different types also…from big woodpeckers to hummingbirds.
I had a blackbird come visit me which I could get very close to and put food down for her she came very often but I noticed she couldn’t fly shed sit there listening to my voice when ide go out she’d practically ask me to feed her she never has ran away from me she used to come to the side door for me to go out n feed her if I didn’t see her about shed always make sure I could spot her in the garden this became a habit daily then I noticed she never turned up each n everyday which has gone on for about 3 months she has returned to me I jumped for joy when she came to me this morning so thrilled as to see her as I thought she’d gone for good where could she have been all this time any suggestions
I have noticed with my mum that all our small birds have gone too, only things we see now are pigeons and crows. There have been 2 new mobile masts gone up in nearby areas. Mobile masts for our bird life…..not a good swap. We miss our little bird friends. I’m going to follow this up about masts.
Please do some proper research and not what you here on FB, this story was started by a guy called Khules and people believed what he said and then spread the same misinformation. ” So it must be true it said so on FB ”
I have 2 5G masts near my home and have never found any dead birds in my garden, on average I have 15 different birds which arrive daily, I clean my feeders weekly and don’t put too many peanuts in my feeders as they go off quickly.
Try putting different foods out for the birds like sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, suet balls with insects and peanuts then watch them return and let me know
My garden was full of sparrows, grackles, woodpeckers, goldfinches, & mourning doves until just about 3 days ago. I’m hoping it’s just the moulting season & not something else. I still see a woodpecker here & there, and the hummingbirds are still around. I’m about 40 miles south of Chicago Illinois.
Same in west Yorkshire ..Lots of sparrows nesting in the hedge ..A robin ..and three blackbirds …Starlings a plenty even the jackdaws have gone ..Fed them all year bird bath x 2 clean and fresh water..And 3 days ago gone ..
I live on the west central coast of Florida, and the birds are gone, at least 6 months now. I have feeders, bird baths, always had lots of small birds, cardinals, sparrows, mocking birds, blue jays, wood peckers, morning doves, grackels, all disappeared. I was hoping it was just my yard, for some reason, until I went on this site. Something is going on.
I live in rurally in NE Scotland and have noticed a significant decline in all species of garden birds – with some (e.g. Dunnock, Jay, Blue Tit, )having disappeared completely. There has also been a reduction in the numbers of birds of prey that used to be seen with frequency over the surrounding woodlands & farmlands.
I was just reading through your letter and the same is happening here in Cornwall, U K. It could be weather related or something strange is going on!!!! All I get in the garden now are pesky pigeons!
The same here in my garden in the West Midlands. Only visitors I get now are pigeons and magpies.
I live in Ottawa, Canada. I still have plenty of blue jays, cardinals, chickadees, starlings, sparrows, house finches, nuthatches and woodpeckers as of November. I have never noticed in past year the total absence of birds, though some species seem to suddenly disappear, and either reappear later or never show up again. This spring and winter, the black-eyed Juncos disappeared only to come back in numbers in late October. I have not seen Grosbeaks in a year and a half. Female Red Poles started appearing in the feeders in the winter. The birds behavior can be inconsistent. They migrate south one year for the winter and the next winter they stick around. Also their feeding behavior can change. Starlings were always present in our backyard, yet would feed on insects and grubs on the ground. Last year they started eating peanuts from the feeders regularly. Woodpeckers have come more and more to the feeders to eat peanuts in the past two years. Backcountry camping, I have noticed this summer that blue jays had returned to the woods in great numbers. The birds patterns aren’t all that predictable.
You are so right…I’m a little south west of Ottawa in Perth….it is a wild year for the numbers of birds & the different species. Another thing is the bees….we planted bee friendly flowers the last 2 years & it’s really worked….even cool mornings there are hundreds in one of my long flower beds…Oh, just in case people are afraid of them…I have never been stung by a honey bee.
I’m in the middle of Oklahoma. We have heard some Blue Jays (my favorite, but they’re elusive as ever) and seen some cranes every now and then, but haven’t seen any others. Very rarely, a cardinal will fly through, quickly ducking into the dense foliage of trees. Even the squirrels seem to have completely disappeared from the neighborhood. The reason? 2 Mississippi Kites have nested nearby. At least a 1/4 mile from my house, but still, the small birds are gone. As awesome a site to see as the beautiful kites soaring in the air, I miss my little finches and sparrows, and yes, even my morning wake up call from the Robins. I hope they come back soon!
Same here, no birds whatsoever, they have all vanished and I am pretty sure that it is not because some predator has moved into the area, I think something is wrong with the birds all over the world and no one is saying what it is. I read that thousands of birds have been turning up dead on beaches along the East coast of Scotland and right down to the East coast of England. I have also read that we have to protect our birds i.e chickens etc as much as possible from bird flu this year, although it is saying there isn’t a problem it is just a safety precaution…..well is it ? I think we are not told the whole facts and maybe there is a problem for birds due to bird flu or even covid, I do hope someone can come up with the answers or at least tell us what is going on with our birds!
I believe it’s radiation from phones and masts, i used to have an avairy and i would get sad because you could see them twitching and yawning it always looked like they were itching. also kept chickens of which for no reason they would loose there ability to stand and died within a few days
Same here in Sheffield. I have been very concerned recently to notice the birds have disappeared from our city garden. We have blue tits, blackbirds, thrush, bull finch and many others normally, but now all I can see is the occasional pigeon. Even magpies have disappeared. Surely not just the effects of the warm weather?
I live in the countryside of Rome, Italy and we have been feeding a large family of sparrows for 5 years now, and they have grown in number. But they always stayed here all year round. They have nests on two big trees in front of our apartment, and all our neighbors feed them too. Even with the extreme heat we just had in summer 38 C, they were here but suddenly since 3 days, complete silence. There are none in the whole neighborhood. Not even the pigeons, just a few crows. Suddenly they have all disappeared. It feels very strange. I hope nothing happened to them.
I came here looking for information as to why the huge flock of sparrows I normally feed daily have suddenly disappeared, and your comment is the same! I am in Detroit, Michigan, and my yard suddenly has no birds. Just a week ago there were hundreds, and even goldfinches came to eat my coneflower seeds. Now, no sparrows, no hummingbirds (though the honeysuckle is still in flower), no finches. Not even the big, noisy bluejays. It’s distressing.
Somerset, UK. Same thing happened here third week October. Hundreds of dunnocks and various other birds we have been endlessly feeding, have gone. Don’t remember this any other similar season. No predators. Is it moulting this late tho have had a mild autumn.
Same here. Leicester U.K. All my birds have vanished, even the blue tots and pidgeon who are usually here in force!
Like you we have no predators…..wonder if it’s because we have a milder Autumn this year so maybe they’ve gone elsewhere for food.
Reckon they will be back when the clocks change with shorter days.
East Yorkshire, UK. Our birds disappear in January & February then come back. We do have a resident sparrow hawk though which doesn’t help, but definitely less birds than a couple of years ago.
How will I know when to start putting food out again for them?
I wouldn’t stop, just reduce the amount in the feeders in case it goes off. My feeders are still fairly busy!
Al lover London birds have Dissapeard ..from our streets. parks . ie regents park, hide park….every street in London.. to Manchester Airport you will see none,, yes maybe pigeons,, a few crows, magpie…except for pigeons gone,,,,, Westminster
The council is has been killing off pigeons….cutting trees in a way they can not hold nests……also some councils have been spraying tops of buildings but will not tell anyone why…in the long term this is this will kill us all….. awarning
Very few birds in my garden at the moment (August), usually have sparrows, dunnocks, coal tits, blue tits, a few siskins, a robin, sometimes a pair of blackbirds who have a nest next door (although next door recently got a cat) and a pair of pigeons who still come every day. I have had a few visitors to the feeders occasionally but not very many. I understand they have natural food at the moment and that they are moulting, hope they come back. I have 3 bird baths and a pond, I have some bird feeders suet balls and seed. I enjoy watching the birds, especially when they feed their fledglings from the feeders. The female blackbird visited my garden yesterday. I am worried that the cat next door might deter some of the birds, I saw the cat in my garden one day, I am sure it has probably been here many times when I am out. I am in Kent
To deter any cat visiting ur garden go to your nearest zoo and ask for some lions dung….throw over ur garden and hey presto cats won’t come…they sense danger somehow…
Had 40/50 Sparrows in our hedge. 2 Black bird nests too. 4 days ago all Sparrows disappeared. Blackbirds are still here though! WEIRD, so quiet!
By the way I am living in Co. Donegal, Ireland (with many deciduous trees and hills nearby).
Have been searching internet to see if others are noticing what I am–and it seems you. I am in Edmonton, AB and in the last week I have seen few birds suddenly–as if they all got the message to leave. Even on garbage day two days ago, not one crow or Magpie tearing at the garbage bags. Disturbing.
Its very concerning , my first time ever in 30 year have no coal tits vastly less other tit family ,no yellow hammers ,no dunnocks !!!,
Blackbirds doing the best ,also flocks of siskins when i normally have a pair . Where are the warblers . One pair of swallows for the whole area ..instead of them being predominantly noticeable . There seems to be massive brood failings and abandoned nest also. Even the dawn chorus is muted and i live in a silent rural area of scotland where its normally deafening .
I have the opposite experience. We don’t normally see small birds in our garden perhaps because there are lots of magpies and crows around, year round. But this year many more small birds than usual.
Haven’t seen or heard any birds for over a week, now. I don’t recall this happening before. I am in Denver, Colorado
I live in Texas. during our crazy snow here in february and up until a few weeks ago I had a pair of blue jay, multiple cardinals, a couple of wood peckers and titmouse. Now i occasionally have a blue jay, thr woodpeckers and titmouse i have not seen. I do have a lot of finches, starlings and DOVES. The doves eat all my food it seems
Me too! Haven’t seen any songbirds since the beginning of May, and i’ve fed them for over 15 years. Weird. Maybe some sort of sickness?
I live in Pennsylvania. We have put out many feeders. I have noticed no chickadees or titmice. Plenty of juncos,doves and now in early spring red winged blackbirds. Used to have five pairs of blue jays now not one. Where are they?
Had loads of birds at my feeders always and now for the last week have only seen a pied wagtail a robin and a blue bird A sparrowhawk has been arriving for food but leaving empty handed because there is no birds.I live in a remote part of the north of Scotland and have been feeding the birds for thirty years and have never noticed them disappear for so long?Wonder what the problem is?
Is everyone still missing birds coming to their gardens as we are too? Noticed the decline after that freezing weather we all had and even though we can hear the birds singing now still very few come to the feeders or to bathe in our waterfall to the garden pond! It used to be a constant array of birds going to and fro feeding, we even bought a different sack of sunflower hearts as we thought maybe this was the problem. We have wondered if maybe the Bird flu has killed them off or that maybe more people are feeding them now since being at home more so they have more places to go?? It’s very sad and we really miss them all!! Live Nothamptonshire UK
Same here in Cardiff. I have 2 birdfeeders and various seeds & nuts plus fat balls. Over last 3 weeks saw two blue tits, nothing since. No cats or dogs close. Puzzled.
I’m not seeing many birds at all. So disappointed. I have several feeders all around my yard with various seeds and suets. I even have mealworms out.
I live in North Devon UK and all the sparrows seem to have disappeared – there is also virtually no dawn chorus. I still have blackbirds, a few blue tits, lots of doves and pigeons (can’t seem to deter them, they are always around!). I put out different food but the seed seems to be mostly left, whereas I used to have to fill the feeders at least once per day. We have always been surrounded by sparrow nests, and I miss their squabbling and chirping very much. When I go out in the mornings, about 07.30, there is silence. I live in a rural area and I have also noticed that there are few sparrows in neighbouring gardens. We also seem to have no best building happening. Is there any explanation?