Ask an RSPB expert: your August questions answered

It can sometimes be a bit worrying when our feathered visitors seemingly disappear from our gardens and green spaces. However, this is usually nothing to worry about and is typical behaviour at this time of year.   

Garden bird numbers naturally fluctuate throughout the year due to various factors such as weather conditions, food availability and environmental changes, such as when the trees lose their leaves, providing less shelter. These types of changes can prompt birds to move to more suitable areas. This can be temporary, and the birds may return as the conditions in other areas change, such as when food resources become depleted.

In late summer, a bounty of natural food away from our gardens becomes available as grain, berries and fruit ripen. This plentiful natural food often means that birds are less interested in the food we provide. Many birds move from their nesting areas to where the most food is. In areas where farmland is nearby, House Sparrows, Starlings and many finches move out to fields to feast on the abundance of grain before it’s harvested, and on the spilt grain after the harvest.

Starlings typically finish nesting by the end of August. They can have one or two broods during the nesting season, often returning to the same spot to nest.

After building their nest, Starlings lay five to seven eggs. Once they are all laid, they incubate the eggs for 12 to 13 days. It takes the chicks a further 20 to 22 days to fledge the nest. Young Starlings tend to get very noisy a few days before fledging, so the sudden silence that follows can help you to work out when they have fledged.

To help you determine if nesting is finished, watch and listen for signs of activity at frequent intervals and for around 10-20 minutes. This can be by listening inside the house or looking for activity from outside. If you can’t check frequently, you can increase the amount of time you spend on each check.

It’s important to mention that Starlings will also sometimes roost (sleep) in roofs during cold nights, so this could be the case if you still notice them using the space in the autumn and winter. If the birds are only seen or heard after dusk and leave around dawn, they are most likely roosting.

If repairs need to be done to the roof, these can be done once the Starlings have definitely finished nesting. If you are doing any repairs, it’s a great idea to put up Starling nestboxes at the same time. These are best placed somewhere near to the original nest site or high up under the eaves.

Starlings are on the Red List of highest conservation concern in the UK. They need all the help we can give them, so by putting up a nestbox, you are helping to make sure that Starlings continue to have a safe spot to roost and nest in future.

Lots of people get in touch with us wondering where our summer migratory species travel to once they leave the UK. For Cuckoos, this means making the long journey back to central Africa where they spend the winter. Cuckoo wintering grounds are mainly found around the Congo rainforest (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo and Gabon).

Males can spend as little as six weeks in the UK before making their way back to Africa, with some leaving as early as the first week of June. Females follow shortly after, once they have laid their eggs. Juvenile Cuckoos make their own way south several weeks later, usually departing the UK in August.