THE number of finches visiting the region’s gardens has declined, according to a survey of more than 25,000 bird lovers.

The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch was staged earlier this year and the results have been released today (Thursday).

Nationally, close to 600,000 people took part in the survey, which aims to give a picture of the health of Britain’s avian visitors.

In County Durham, the Tees Valley, North Yorkshire, Tyne and Wear and Northumberland, all but three species of bird that featured in the top 20 saw an increase in numbers.

The exceptions were the chaffinch, goldfinch and greenfinch which turned up with less frequency than in 2014, a trend mirrored across the country.

Across the region, the top spot was fought out between the starling and the house sparrow. The former holding sway in Tees Valley and Tyne and Wear and the latter in County Durham, Northumberland and North Yorkshire.

The rest of the leaderboard consisted in the main of the blackbird, blue tit, wood pigeon, magpie, robin, collared dove, great tit, jackdaw and feral pigeon.

RSPB Conservation Scientist, Dr Daniel Hayhow, said: “Many garden birds are in desperate need of our help. During winter, birds need extra food and water, a safe place to shelter and make their home.

“Gardens providing these things are an invaluable resource for birds and are likely to have a significant effect on their numbers, perhaps even playing a pivotal role in reversing some declines.”

While the RSPB says alarms bells aren’t ringing about the annual variation in finch numbers, for greenfinches this drop in numbers continues a long-term decline of 53 per cent nationally since 1979, which is likely due to Trichomonosis disease.

This highlights, it says, the need to maintain a high level of hygiene at garden feeding stations.

“Birds such as goldfinch, greenfinch and chaffinch may not have been as reliant on food found in our gardens during the cold snap because of a decent natural seed supply found in the wider countryside this winter following a good summer,” said Mr Hayhow.

“The weather can have varied effects on different groups of birds in terms of behaviour and habitats used. This year, a better seed supply in the countryside for finches means that we saw fewer visiting our gardens.

“On the other hand during the cold spell, birds like blue tit and robin would still be more reliant on food found in our gardens.”

For more information and details on how you can boostincrease the numbers of birds in theyour garden visit www.rspb.org.uk.