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Bird populations

State of the Environment Indicators

Kensington and Chelsea is remarkably rich in bird life, despite there being so little green space in the Borough. The Council's Ecology Service organises a breeding bird survey every year. In 2002, there were 52 species of birds seen in the Borough, with 30 of them breeding. Unusual species included the Sparrowhawk, Tawny Owl, Blackcap, Housemartin and Long Tailed Tit.

There are good numbers of common garden birds, and common wildfowl can be found on the Thames and the Canal. Sadly the number of House Sparrows is still falling and for the first time since records began sparrows did not breed in the Borough in 2002. More information about Sparrows is available from the London Wildlife Trust

This table shows the number of breeding pairs of birds in the Borough over the past few years (where+ is shown after a number, there were possibly more pairs but it is not certain). The bold fields show which species are decreasing in numbers.

Numbers of pairs of breeding birds
Species 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Summary
Sparrowhawk 2-3 2-3 2-3 3 1-2 1-2 stable
Moorhen 7 7 9-10 10-13 9-11 9-10 stable
Great Spotted Woodpecker 2-3 2-3 1-3 1-3 1-3 2-3 stable
Wren 26+ 23+ 29+ 32+ 28+ 28+ stable
Dunnock 14+ 10+ 9+ 11+ 9+ 7+ decrease
Robin 18+ 24+ 21+ 23+ 24+ 24+ stable
Blackbird 59+ 49+ 46+ 47+ 44+ 20+ stable
Song Thrush 7-10 7-10 6-9 4-6 3-4 5-6 stable
Blackcap 7-8 6-8 8-9 6-7 5-6 5-7 stable
Blue Tit 41 30+ 38 48 41 45+ stable
Magpie 5 5 4+ 3-5 3-5 3-5 stable
Carrion Crow 8 8 4+ 4-6 4-6 3-5 slight decrease
Starling 14+ 13+ 12 8-9 10-11 10-11 stable
House Sparrow 35+ 35+ 10+ 6-10 2-4 0 marked decrease
Greenfinch 6+ 6+ 3-4 1-3 2-5 3-5 stable

 

 

 

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