I THOUGHT a bit of festive cheer was called for after some depressing letters about the lack of birds on bird feeders.

The good news is that there is no need to worry about the small number of birds feeding in our gardens at the moment.

The birds are definitely still around as on a recent a trip through Scarcroft allotments birds were singing as if it were the spring.

The warm summer led to a bumper crop of fruit and berries, and there was a good breeding season for many insects and invertebrates.

Garden birds can be found gobbling hawthorn and rowan berries which were long gone by this time last year and as the ground is reasonably soft, robins and blackbirds are eating nutritious worms and insect larvae.

A look at the British Trust for Ornithology website shows that breeding magpies in Yorkshire and Humber have declined by 23 per cent between 1995 and 2011.

Goldfinches, which must surely be a tasty treat for birds such as sparrowhawk, have increased by 168 per cent.

Mr Parkinson (Letters, December 27) should perhaps look with pleasure at the variety of birds he sees, and not blame predators for declining numbers of birds in his garden.

If you a have a garden, help wildlife by leaving untidy corners and bushes for feeding and roosting birds; and avoiding using pesticides and herbicides. Also, keep cats inside at dawn and dusk, particularly during the bird breeding season.

Sara Robin, Wentworth Road, York.