Firstly, there is no need to panic. It is perfectly normal for birds to quieten down in the summer months. Birds sing for two main reasons, to attract a mate and to defend a territory. By the summer, most birds have paired and the chicks have grown and fledged the nest, so there’s less need for adults to defend their territory with their song. If you manage to get up for an early morning summer sunrise, you will notice the dawn chorus of bird song is a fraction of its spring glory.
Where have the birds gone?
(c) George Cook
After a busy spring of singing their hearts out, building nests and raising a brood or more of hungry chicks, summer can be a quiet time for birds. Looking out your window at your garden bird feeder, you might notice that there are still plenty of peanuts left. The fat balls remain untouched. The bushes and hedgerows seem silent without the familiar birdsong. Butterflies still flap over the flowerbeds and dragonflies whir over the pond but where’s the robin and the blackbird? Where have all the birds gone?
(c) George Cook
So that explains why they are quieter but why do we also see fewer birds in the summer?
There could be a few different reasons for their apparent disappearance. Firstly, once birds have finished breeding they will undergo a moult where they grow a completely new set of feathers. After a wild and busy breeding season, their feathers might look a bit worse for wear so they will shed old feathers and grow new ones all ready for the winter when they’ll need good quality feathers to keep them warm. Even the young birds who hatched this year will have a summer moult, losing their baby feathers and growing their adult coats. Whilst moulting, their ability to fly impacted which means they are much more at risk of being predated. Therefore they will spend this time hiding away and concealing themselves. Completing a moult can take several weeks but when they reappear they will look fabulous with a nice shiny new set of feathers.
A change in available food during the summer months could also explain where the birds disappear to. After breeding, birds will move away from their nesting sites and be drawn to places that have more available food. Some birds like starlings might move out to fields to feast on grains and seeds before they are harvested whilst blackbirds might move out to feed on the ripening blackberries. Smaller garden birds like blue tits move higher up into the canopy to feed which can make them harder to see. As the abundance of natural food sources increases in the summer, it is less necessary to feed your garden bird at this time but as things start to get cooler in the autumn, you can start putting food out again.
Many birdwatchers will often shift their binoculars onto butterflies or dragonflies during the summer whilst they wait for their feathered friends to reappear. There are still plenty of natural wonders to enjoy in the summer so make sure you get outside and see what you can find whilst the summer sun still shines!