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National Bird Day

National Bird Day

With January 5th being National Bird Day in the U.S. and the British RSPB Garden Bird Survey taking place at the end of January I thought it was a good time to highlight some bird facts.

Do you know your National Bird?

Popular Birds Kate MawdsleyI have to confess I wasn’t sure what the National Bird of Britain was. Then I looked it up and  remembered that the public had been asked recently and they decided it should be the Robin.

We have a very friendly Robin in our garden. I’d love to know where they nest because I think ours has a home in the stone gabion wall next to our property, not in a tree. Is that usual for Robins?

England and Northern Ireland don’t have a National Bird but Wales does; the Red Kite (unofficially), Scotland’s is the Golden Eagle.

Blackbird Hilary JohnsonThe National Bird of the U.S. is of course the Bald Eagle. Did you know that the National Bird of Sweden is the Blackbird? The Blackbird is one of my personal favourites. If I thought the Robin in our garden was tame then the blackbird is positively domesticated as it actually follows me round outside!

Why National Bird Day?

When you look in to the origins of National Bird Day there is of course a serious side to it. It’s not all nostalgia about out favourite garden birds but about the threats that so many bird species face. About 12% of the world’s bird species will face extinction in the next century and this includes nearly a third of the world’s parrot population.Party Parrot gift tag Phoenix Trading

National Bird Day is a tool to help educate and inform us all, not just people of the U.S.. We need to know what we can do to protect birdlife in the wild and captivity. Visit NationalBirdDay for more information.

What’s your favourite bird?