ENVIRONMENTAL work carried out across the former Barnsley coalfield is paying dividends for the birdlife.
Barnsley Bird Study Group carries out an annual survey of the town's ornithology and is also preparing a bird 'atlas'.
Group member Peter Middleton, a borough councillor, said: "There have been lots of changes but it's not all doom and gloom. Some species are up, some are down.
"Species like the nut hatch were very scarce 20 years ago and now they are everywhere. Gold finches are a lot more common than they used to be but twites are extinct."
