Starlings top the pops at schools

Three hundred and eighty five pupils in the county took part in the society's Big Schools' Birdwatch and found that there are an average of 6.20 Starlings in each school garden here. The House Sparrow wasn't far behind (4.27). But the low rate for some relatively ubiquitous birds - where are all the crows, gulls and pigeons gone? - might surprise some. The remaining eight most popular birds were Hooded Crow (2.86), Chaffinch (2.60), BlueTit (2.53), Blackbird (2.14), Black Headed Gull (1.73), Jackdaw (1.53), Robin (1.50) and Feral Pigeon (1.40). In Londonderry seventeen classes in fifteen different schools took part in birdwatch with forty-eight teachers and classroom assistants also taking part. In Northern Ireland, just over 4,600 school children and teachers took part in the activity - a fraction of the 75,000 that took part across the UK, but an important sample nevertheless. The schools' records are put to good use by the RSPB as they contribute valuable scientific data. The results help to build a picture of birds visiting school grounds and the population changes they are experiencing. "Starlings are incredible birds which never fail to catch the eye," said Stephanie Sim, RSPB, "especially when they perform their heart-stopping dance each evening when they go in to roost. They are unmistakable as they go around in sizeable flocks chattering away, being very sociable birds." The blackbird and black-headed gull took second and third place across Northern Ireland but they were well down the list in the North West. Ms Sim said the prevalence of gulls and blackbirds was again hardly surprising. "The blackbird was number one in the UK's Big Schools' Birdwatch and the black headed gull is a bird which is never far from us," said Stephanie. "In fact school grounds provide the perfect place for foraging for these non-fussy eaters." Stephanie continued: "The Big Schools' Birdwatch is a great way to introduce thousands of children to the wildlife visiting their school environment. "When I was out and about in the schools I was swept away by how excited both teachers and pupils were looking at birds which they saw everyday of their lives, but were actually SEEING them for the first time." And the interest in birds is more than survey-deep. The benefits of contact with nature are now widely recognised. Such exposure plays an important role in a child's education and social development. Independent research has found that such activities can have a positive impact on children's mental and physical health. Stephanie added: "As part of our Letter to the Future campaign, we want the government to make a greater commitment to ensure every child has regular, quality, first-hand experiences of the natural environment. There is simply no substitute for being there, seeing it, touching it." For the full UK-wide Big Schools' Birdwatch results visit: www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch.