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.
135 Responses
Here, in Oklahoma, they have all seemed to of vanished. The only ones I have seen in 5 months is the Crows, two male Cardinals and a couple of Titmouse and two Caroline Wrens. No Blue-Jays, no Starlings ( haven’t seen them in years!) House Sparrows, no Woodpeckers or even the Robins…
Food has been untouched since October. This is really concerning and sad, as the mornings are so quite and so much silence. It’s become heartbreaking…
I live in Cape Town, South Africa & am experiencing the same phenomenon as everyone else who has commented. I find it mystifying & upsetting.
I came to this website looking for an explanation for why most of my usual common bird population of white eyes & rock thrushes have disappeared virtually overnight.
I live in Cape Town, South Africa and have never experienced this before in all the years I’ve been feeding birds in my garden. Even the squirrels have gone & I too find it extremely mystifying & depressing.
It’s not cats. At my other house 3 minutes away from my current one, Me and my 3 cats Would sit in the backyard and watch hundreds of birds pass through throughout the day. Coming to my native plants, bird feeders, and water fountains. Now I’m in my new house, which is 3 minutes away from my old one. And my cats don’t even go outside here at all. I have the same native plants, bird feeders and water fountain but maybe 5% of the birds. it’s very strange.
I am in western-mid Maryland. And we always have birds this time of year. Only birds I see now is a flock of starling, geese, and crows. All others are gone, and feeders not being visited at all.
I live on the ms gulfcoast. Always have many birds in my yard, but for the suddenly they are gone. Total silence outdoors. I feed black oil sunflower seeds, home made suet, peanuts, striped sunflower seeds for the larger birds, and apple to my cat birds. I know my neighbor released 2 ferrel cats in The woods behind my house, but i have two small poodles that do not allow them in my fenced backyard. So the birds are safe at my feeders, but i don,t see any birds, even in The woods behind my house. Eerie quiet. Do they know something we don,t?
Hi , A purple rumped sunbird built it’s nest in my balcony . It was there for a lot of days .
One day maid happen to see them and next Day they vanished.
Now 2nd time too the birds came ,they had 2 kids too , they were nicely there for lot of days thr mother was feeding the birds, every morning I could here them. Yester again my maid saw them and today they have vanished .
I am shocked why is this happening . Everytime after she sees them thay go away.
Is there any problem.with my maid.
Exactly the same experience here on south coast of England we have a large garden with wild areas and always had cheeky robins and blackbirds and many other species, no sign of them all this year or any bird other than pigeons. Very worrying
I live in Universal City, TX. We usually have to fill our feeders 3 times a day. For going onto 3 days now, our feeders are still almost full! This time of year is a busy time for the birds. Migrating birds join the local population and its crazy with all of them eating at the feeders. All of a sudden they are all gone! This is within a 3-5 mile radius! No birds ANYWHERE! Even the squirrels are gone! What on Earth is going on???? I am so sad. I miss the commotion!
Same here. We luve near Bournemouth in uk and have a large garden with plenty of trees and shrubs. The garden is usually full of a plethora of birds queuing up for the feeders and bird baths, but they all seem to have disappeared over the last couple of months or so. We see the odd sparrow, loads of crows, magpies and wood pigeons but little else. Others in area say similar. Very weird and sad.
Like many on here my usual masses of sparrows, robins and blackbirds have disappeared, here in the spring in big numbers, now for 3 weeks just 3 solitary visits by a wood pigeon.
Looking to the skies, nothing is flying around, where normally seagulls, crows, magpies, various small birds, pigeons etc shoot across the skyline going to different feeding and nesting areas. When I say nothing, I mean nothing, in an hour I counted 3 crows, 2 pigeons and 1 magpie.
Oddly enough many 5g transmitters have been turned on or boosted as phone companies start the switch over since the spring. Many studies found on the internet state the microwaves from these transmissions are dangerous to not only birds, but bees and many insects. Coincidence or man creating an avain and insect genecide in the name of profits. Too many critters have gone too quick, at the same time these devices have be started up. They are also untested on humans, but many studies show those exposed to 5g are suffering, armies actually have 5g weapons to subdue crowds and people.
Same here in the Midlands. Been like it most of the year. But the silence here in the country is eerie. I mean surrounded by lanes and farmers fields and NOTHING .. too many people got their noses in their phones to notice.. we don’t need all this technorubbish… we want our wildlife back
I’m in upstate ny in the heldeburg mountains… the same here with the disappearance of all of the birds! I’ve been hearing the same from friends who feed the birds! I’m saddened and am trying to figure it out also! My thinking is that it could be the newly introduced 5G cell service as well!!! The birds are the first to notice when something is not good for all of us! I’m reaching out to environmental conservation organizations for answers and it would help if others join in with questions, we need answers… it’s something that I’ve never seen before!
I’m in Tennessee and I’m still seeing some birds, like my woodpeckers, mourning doves, jays, and cardinals, but oddly all my starlings are gone. They have been gone since at least mid July. They used to live in my siding and I would hear them and their newly hatched chicks twice a year, but now there’s nothing. What could make just one type of bird leave an area? I’m worried about the rest now.
I am in Muskoka Ontario, and for the past 2-3 weeks I have not seen any birds, except maybe 1 or 2. I have a couple feeders that are up and usually swarming with birds. My feeders are usually refilled every 4 days and have been full for over 2-3 weeks. My neighbours have reported the same things. Its very unusual indeed.
I too came here to see if anyone else has the same issue. I am based in London/UK and all my Robins and many others are gone🥲 all the live meal worms and food is rotten and I had to throw it out. Still putting out enough and always looking for them .Very upset about it . Especially reading all these comments from others with same observation. Not a good sign.
This is so heartbreaking… I was wondering if this was happening in other countries besides the United States. The mornings are silent here.
Same here in South west france, but I guess no food for 2 weeks whilst on vacation hasnt helped. Its october
I live in Scotland and came online because I had noticed the food I was putting out was not being eaten,I began to watch and there was no birds,so came online to see if it was something that happened this time of year,and it is never noticed it till now.
I live in a rural area of Northeastern Pennsylvania and all of my birds are gone. My backyard has always had an abundance of Wren’s, Cardinals, Blue Jays, Grackles, Red Winged Black Birds, Large Black Birds, American Goldfinch’s, Mourning Doves, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, and many, many more. They’ve all disappeared from my feeders for the past 5 days and counting. Even when they were not feeding, there was always noise in the trees around my house, but now the silence is defining and eerie. I have never experienced this, and I’ve lived here all of my life. I miss them, and it’s so very odd. Has anyone else experienced this?
Yes! We are in NY. We have a bird feeder by our kitchen window and watch them eat while we have our meals. They all vanished about 3 days ago. Today I saw maybe 2 wrens, but that’s it. It’s extremely worrisome.
Yes it’s the same in my garden. I’m in North Wiltshire and they’ve just vanished. Like you, I had a huge variety of visitors. We have many trees, shrubs etc in the garden which were busy with birds all year. It’s odd.
I am experiencing the SAME thing, so badly that I mentioned to my brother who is NW Pennsylvania and I in Central Pennsylvania. He said it’s the same where he is. It is so very, very strange!!!!
I live in Southern Maine and the exact thing has happened to me. It has been so strange and sad. I can’t figure it out. Even when food sources are more abundant and there are prey nearby ( like hawks) I have always had bird activity in my yard and at my feeder. It is an enigma!
I live in Southern California and have really enjoyed watching sparrows and mourning doves in my backyard. Recently, I just added a birdbath. Just yesterday, all of a sudden there are no birds and no squirrels.
The quiet is depressing and seems unnatural..
I am in central Connecticut near the Connecticut River and sadly have the same experience. I do hope they come back – it’s very odd
I’m in Brooklyn with a large yard and I usually have a variety of birds all year long. But about 2 weeks ago I noticed they’re all gone. It’s weird. I also noticed a lot of chem trails in the sky this summer.
i live in Baltimore Maryland and work in Anne Arundel co, i noticed the birds were gone about 1 week ago,everytime i mention it to someone they look at me like im crazy till they look around then their eyes get big. nothing on the news about it ,thats the really odd part
It seems so strange not to see any birds in my garden in mid August, We have great pleasure feeding them and watching them back and forth feeding their young in the breeding season.We live in the UK, and can’t wait for our feathered friends to return.
I’m in the UK too. Even though we always had many birds all year round in the trees and shrubs they have all gone. No birdsong either. 🙁
I’m in Washington State. I have a fairly protected balcony with nearby trees. All spring and summer we had songbirds and their newly flying babies at our feeders and birdbath. We even have a popular ground feeder on the floor. Now it’s mid August and it is silent and lonely out there. I keep the birdbath clean and full in the heat but no visitors. It’s sad.
I am in Utah, I usually have birds all year, even some homing pigeons and doves and they all disappeared about 2 weeks ago -just disappeared – I have never noticed this happen before that I remember.
I’m in Idaho. Yesterday I had loads of visitors and today not even one?
I agree. In northern NY in the Adirondacks we normally have an abundance of birds throughout the summer, with it dropping a bit late summer. We keep our feeders full. We had fewer species migrating north in spring, but saw whole flocks at a time. It thinned out to 30-40% of the usual population over summer, and fewer species. Several species that appeared We only had one pair. Now in August there were literally no birds at the feeders. This is unusual. We also had fewer insects this year. The only thing I can attribute it to is the occasional smoke we got over summer from the Canadian wildfires.
I’m in Australia getting ready for Spring i had so many doves wait for me to feed i fed them wild bird seed, suddenly all gone two magpies all so come they are still here. The maggies have chased them but they still came back, i miss my feathered friends. 🥺WHY?*