Latest news with #songbirds
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Chelsea Flower Show medal for Rutland designer's bird garden
A Rutland-based garden designer has won a medal at her first RHS Chelsea Flower Oakey received a silver gilt for highlighting the plight of the UK song bird in her show SongBird Survival Garden aimed to show the narrative of a bird's daily life with a birdhouse den made from reclaimed materials showing motifs of threatened UK and Stacey actress Alison Steadman was one of the visitors to the garden and said she had picked up some tips to attract birds into her own garden. Ms Oakey said she wanted to include three elements, "shelter, water and food that are instrumental to birds' lives" in her garden. "My design is inspired by the movement and perspective of a bird, foraging for food and water while moving between points of safety and shelter."Two pathways weave between layers of planting, mimicking how birds prefer to move through a network of cover," she Oakey said the garden featured a birdhouse den made from reclaimed materials, with bird-friendly planting which provides natural sources of food and nesting material. 'Family tradition' Ms Oakey said her parents were florists and avid orchid growers, who had won seven gold medals at the Chelsea Flower Show previously. She said: "It's just lovely to be able to follow in their footsteps. "It's exciting to follow the family tradition and come to Chelsea." Once the Chelsea Flower show has finished, Ms Oakey says the whole garden will be relocated. "We're taking it on a lorry up to Hull to its permanent home with the Neighbourhood Network Charity, who manage a bustling community centre, based in Bransholme."It currently doesn't have an outside space, so it'll create a lovely place for people to sit and an oasis for birds in the city," she said.
Telegraph
21-05-2025
- General
- Telegraph
Cat-repellent garden sparks Chelsea Flower Show row
A cat-repellent garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show has sparked a row with animal welfare charities. Designers of the SongBird Survival Garden deliberately chose trees with spiky thorns to stop cats from climbing them and disturbing birds. Although intended to raise awareness of the drastic decline of songbirds in the UK, the design has proved contentious with animal rights campaigners, who argue it is unfair to cats. They claimed the thorny trees might harm the pets, suggesting they were being scapegoated for the decline in the bird population. The charity behind the garden dismissed suggestions that it was dangerous to cats. The dispute comes the same week that Monty Don, the veteran broadcaster and horticulturalist, made headlines by unveiling a dog-friendly garden at Chelsea. The SongBird Survival Garden, created by designer Nicola Oakey and sponsored by the Project Giving Back charity, is intended to be a safe haven for songbirds, whose numbers in the UK have fallen by 50 per cent over the last five decades. Sue Morgan, chief executive of SongBird Survival, said the garden deliberately uses hawthorn trees to ward off cats and other predators. 'These trees are a great example of shelter,' she told The Telegraph. 'You can see they have got really long thorns within them. It's a really safe place for a bird to sit because bigger birds, cats or other things couldn't get into the tree. 'So they will sit there and then they'll be able to say 'right and I want to go and get some food' and will use it as a launching point. Birds are very cautious, and they make sure they feel safe before they move around.' She added: 'You can grow your garden and plant it in a way that works for the birds and for the cats so they all have their own spaces. It's about finding that solution. 'Having thorny plants can be a natural deterrent. The cats have plenty of other places to go.' On whether the tree is a danger to cats, she said: 'No, no, no, they just wouldn't go up it. They're intelligent creatures. They would see that and think 'I'll go elsewhere'.' The garden has proved popular with the judges – winning a prestigious silver-gilt award – and songbirds, as droppings on plants show they are using it at night. But Elvira Meucci-Lyons, the chief executive of Mayhew, a London-based charity said: 'As an animal welfare charity, we appreciate the need for spaces for all wildlife to flourish. 'However, we urge people to consider the impact of spaces that might harm cats, either through physical injury from spikes, or through mental injury, such as from sound deterrents. Cat-proof roller fencing can be a kinder alternative.' Daniel Warren-Cummings, the central behaviour officer for the Cats Protection charity, said it was easy to scapegoat cats for the decline in the bird population. He said: 'At Cats Protection and as cat owners, many of us are lovers of birds also. And while it is apparent that there are bigger contributors to bird decline in the UK, such as intensive farming and habitat-loss, we encourage responsible cat ownership to reduce predation of birds. 'Planting of trees that cats will not be motivated to climb is a passive tactic and not directly aiming to harm cats, so there would be no objection. Other measures such as keeping cats in overnight to avoid peak wildlife times such as dawn and dusk and playing with your cat for five to 10 minutes each day will also help to reduce your cat's hunting behaviour outside. 'It is often easier to scapegoat cats rather than to holistically look at and change the entirety of the issues facing bird populations in the UK.' Samantha Prior, from Woodgreen Pets Charity, added: 'Some people prefer cats not to be in their gardens and the ideas used in the SongBird Survival Garden are all safe and won't cause any harm to our feline friends. 'However, it's important to remember that cats love to be outdoors and exploring – it's in their DNA. It would be good to see gardens being promoted not for keeping cats out, but for showing people how they can create a cat-friendly garden that appeals to both people and cats. 'If people want to encourage cats to stay in their own garden for adventures, there are loads of great ways to do this. For example, including lots of cat-friendly plants, such as cat mint and cat nip, shrubbery and plant pots will keep cats entertained and give them somewhere to relax or hide, while also still looking visually appealing.'
The Independent
15-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Colourful birds at greater risk from poachers, finds study
Brightly and uniquely coloured songbirds are in greater danger of extinction and are more likely to be traded as pets, researchers have discovered. A team from at Durham University, the University of Florida, and Massey University in New Zealand, found that close to 3,000 bird species globally – approximately 30 per cent of all birds – are traded as pets or products, such as feathers, bills, or eggs. The researchers made predictions of species not yet traded but which face being hunted based on the association of colour with human decisions to select species for trade. The researchers explored the potential impact of trade on individual species and the colour palettes to which they contribute by combining global databases of songbird plumage colour, geographic range, extinction risk and prevalence in the pet trade. Lead author of the study, Dr Rebecca Senior of Durham University, said: 'For better or worse, aesthetic value is important to people. This can be a good thing, because it motivates people to care about and fund conservation efforts, but it can also be harmful when it motivates other people to want to trap and own those species. 'Trade can be done sustainably, but we haven't done a good job of that so far and time is already running out for many wild populations. It's not just about losing beautiful species, it's about the continued erosion of biodiversity and, with that, all of the amazing things that nature provides.' The full study has been published in the journal Current Biology. Birds with certain colour hues, like azure and yellow, are especially common in the trade, which targets clusters of closely related species. Songbirds (passerines) are highly sought after in the pet trade, particularly for their beautiful songs. However, songbirds can also be remarkably colourful – a highly desirable trait in other commonly traded species, such as parrots. Hotspots of songbird colour diversity and uniqueness are concentrated in the tropics. The researchers predict that 478 additional species are likely targets for future trade. The study team were surprised to discover that pure white appears to be a unique colour that is highly desirable. The report stated: 'An insidious aspect to humanity's valuation of nature is that high value also drives wildlife trade, which can spearhead the demise of prized species 'This trade is, in large part, driven by humanity's passion for beauty and aesthetics.'
