Birds of Conservation Concern, and I've got two of them!

The most serious category is the Red List, for which the criteria are one or more of the following:

• Globally threatened
• Historical population decline in UK during 1800–1995
• Severe (at least 50%) decline in UK breeding population over last 25 years, or longer-term period (the entire period used for assessments since the first BoCC review, starting in 1969).

It is with great pride, therefore, that I can announce that two Red List species are currently making great use of the food and water that I put out for birds in my garden.

My pride is somewhat tempered by the fact that the two species in question are House Sparrow and Starling. I would have preferred, say, Spotted Flycatcher or Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, two species that have in their time visited my garden and, let's face it, are a lot prettier.