MORE than 11,000 armchair birdwatchers have helped ornithologists reveal that small birds have returned to the county after a slump.

Oxfordshire was one of the top performers for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, where 11,062 bird lovers recorded the species in their gardens on January 29 and January 30.

Due to long spells of bad weather last year, small bird numbers had dramatically decreased, but this year the figures have risen.

Charity spokesman Andy Waters said: “We were really interested to see how many small birds fared, after such a disastrous last year.

“It appears that many may have had a decent breeding season and have been able to bounce back.

“We mustn’t be complacent – another hard winter could see numbers back down, so it’s important everyone continues to feed their garden birds.”

Mr Waters added: “The results from Oxfordshire are quite similar from the rest of the country.

“This is one of the best counties in the UK for people taking part, which is quite a thumbs-up for Oxford.”

Both nationally and in Oxfordshire, the house sparrow retained the top spot for the eighth year running.

The report shows there has been many new species spotted in gardens across Oxfordshire.

Dr Andrew Gosler, president of the Oxford Ornithological Society and lecturer in biological conservation at Oxford University, said: “There have, of course, been many changes and some big events in Oxfordshire ornithology recently with the biggest waxwing invasion in years, if not ever.

“Lots of people have also reported bramblings in gardens, and other birds not usually seen in gardens appeared in the snowy weather.

“For example, we had a pheasant and a pair of moorhens in our little garden in Risinghurst.”

Birdwatcher Bob Edwards, 67, who volunteers once a week at the Otmoor Nature Reserve in Beckley, said: “There are fewer small birds around than this time last year because of the winter.

“Many people have seen waxwings recently, but they must be posh birds because I only saw one a few years ago in Waitrose car park!

“They like car parks as the trees they plant tend to have a lot of berries, but they do turn up in Sainsbury’s too.”

Waxwings flood into the UK from Scandinavia every few winters.

Mark Eaton, a scientist with the RSPB, said: “The Big Garden Birdwatch is the first indicator of exactly how many were seen and we are pleased that so many people get to enjoy sightings of these beautiful birds.

“They feed on berries so it shows that lots of people are planting the right things for wildlife and reaping the rewards.”

More than 10.2 billion birds were counted this year by 609,177 people across the UK.

Birds seen in Oxfordshire per hour (on average):

  • House sparrow: 3.4; Blackbird: 3.3; Blue tit: 3.2; Starling: 2.8; Chaffinch: 2.4; Wood pigeon: 2; Goldfinch: 1.8; Great tit: 1.6; Long-tailed tit: 1.5; Robin: 1.4.