Households urged to put two fruits on their lawns this winter to help blackbirds

Households have been urged to put two fruits on their lawns this winter to help hungry blackbirds. Recognised as one of the UK's most common birds, the well-loved songster has faced a number of threats this year, including the deadly, mosquito-borne Usutu virus and a dry spring - both the result of our changing climate.

Drier, warmer springs force the earthworms in our gardens to move deeper underground, out of reach of the blackbirds which enjoy feasting on them. With hard, sun-baked soil, this member of the thrush family can struggle to find the invertebrates needed to help sustain itself and family of chicks.

Blackbirds are understood by experts to be particularly susceptible to Usutu virus, which has been described as a growing threat to Britain's wildbirds. The virus was first detected in the UK in 2020 and has spread across the South of England up to Cambridgeshire.

Jon Carter from the British Trust for Ornithology told the Daily Express it is a bit too early for all the data to have been gathered and assessed for this breeding season, but he was able to say that, looking at the BTO's Garden Bird Watch online reporting, it looks like blackbirds have had "a pretty poor year".

He cautioned that at this stage the evidence isn't much more than anecdotal, but the thinking is in some places this will be down to Usutu virus. Mr Carter added: "We can't say anything definitive until we've had chance to really look at the data in detail."

The BTO's Garden Bird Watch online reporting for September alone shows an average count of 0.83 compared to an average across all years excluding 2025 of 1.48. This was below August's 1.04 average this year and 1.84 average of all years, again leaving out this year.

Under Garden Bird Watch, participants record the maximum number of individuals seen at any one time in their garden. The BTO then averages those counts across sites to calculate the average maximum weekly count.

Despite the apparent fall in reported sightings, Britons might still notice a rise in blackbird numbers in the coming days, as Mr Carter explained.

He said: "It's always worth remembering that the numbers of blackbirds will increase across the UK in the next few weeks as migratory birds from the continent arrive here from Scandinavia and elsewhere.

"Many of these visitors will come to our parks and gardens in search of food. Berry-bearing bushes and windfall apples are particularly popular, so those of us with gardens can think about growing such plants to help our struggling birdlife."

Two fruits identified by Mr Carter as likely to attract blackbirds are apples and dried grapes, in the form of raisins or sultanas. Other morsels to tempt blackbirds to your garden include mealworms and suet pellets, according to the expert.

He said: "As these birds are ground feeders - they don't use hanging feeders - the food is best scattered on the ground in small amounts."

Mr Carter added: "The provision of clean water will always help and feeder hygeine is critical as always."