Big Garden Birdwatch

Did my Big Garden Birdwatch this morning. It's bitterly cold today, clear and breezy, and I went out first thing to top up the feeders, scatter seed and oats on the ground, and put out some water.

I was thrilled to count a whopping SIX Reed Buntings hopping around with the Chaffinches. One of them was [presumably...] the bird we ringed last weekend. So that was good, but where were all the Great Tits? And why didn't any of our Marsh Tits turn up?

The totals...

• Chaffinch, 16
• Jackdaw, 11
• Reed Bunting, 6
• Blue Tit, 5
• Greenfinch, 4
• Great Tit, 3
• Robin, 2
• Blackbird, 2
• Dunnock, 2
• Pheasant, 1
• Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1
• Carrion Crow, 1
• Magpie, 1
• Coal Tit, 1

Annoyingly, I've just seen a Marsh Tit. Too late now...

Vote Jackdaw!

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Big Garden Birdwatch

It's that time of year again: the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. I did mine from 8.30-9.30 yesterday morning, when it was still frosty and cold. Today it's mild (the pond ice has melted), wet and windy. 

Here are the totals...

• Chaffinch, 8
• Jackdaw, 5
• Blackbird, 3
• Dunnock, 3
• Great Tit, 3
• Starling, 3
• Blue Tit, 2
• Greenfinch, 2
• Coal Tit, 2
• Robin, 1
• Goldfinch, 1
• Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1
• Magpie, 1

That's quite different from last year and the year before, in some ways.

Where were all the Greenfinches? I counted a max of 12 last year. There have been mutterings on Cambirds about various theories, including alternative food sources and nasty illnesses (trichomoniasis).

Where were all the Blue Tits? Only two at once seems a bit pathetic, but we know from our New Year ringing session that there will have been lots more, but also that they had a bad breeding season in 2008.

Blackbird numbers were up, with a max count of 3 at once this year (1 in 2008 and none in 2007!). Annoyingly, I've counted 5 at once today. It was a similar story with Great Spotted Woodpeckers: only 1 male seen during my hour's count, but I saw two different females yesterday: 1 with a ring, and the other distinctively dirty.

It was good to see some Starlings, as they're not always around. One was the male I ringed on 3 January, so it'll be interesting to see whether he disappears in a few weeks or stays a while longer. No Marsh Tits, Sparrowhawks or sparrows of any description, though.

photo taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Big Garden Birdwatch - done

It's Big Garden Birdwatch weekend again. I've just done my count, from 10.15 to 11.15am:

• Greenfinch: 12
• Chaffinch: 7
• Jackdaw: 7
• Great Tit: 4
• Blue Tit: 3
• Robin: 3
• Dunnock: 2
• Coal Tit: 1
• Sparrowhawk: 1
• Wren: 1
• Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1
• Blackbird: 1

Looking at my results from last year, some things are pretty much the same while others have changed slightly. I had the same number of Jackdaws and Chaffinches, but fewer Blue Tits. No Long-tailed Tit or Stock Dove this year, but we had a visit from a Sparrowhawk (perhaps the same one as the other day; it used the same hunting strategy). I counted six times more Greenfinches this year than last.

It's hard to draw conclusions from that but my bit of 'science' will go into the pot with everyone else's.

Most annoyingly, I didn't see any Marsh Tits or Tree Sparrows, which were both seen yesterday.

Marsh Tits are occasional visitors, dropping in briefly to grab a sunflower seed and then disappearing.

Until yesterday, we'd had only one Tree Sparrow before, in November, which stayed two days and cleared off. Three were seen together yesterday, joining the Greenfinches underneath the feeders.

No sign of them yet today. I did consider waiting til they showed before commencing my count, but that felt like cheating and anyway, I might have been waiting all day.

Big Garden Birdwatch

Like a good RSPB member, I did my Big Garden Birdwatch count. From 8.10 to 9.10am, I stood at the dining room window and watched what went on outside in the garden.

BGBW isn't complicated: peer out of the window for an hour and count the max numbers of each species you see at once. Here are my counts:

• Blue Tit: 7
• Jackdaw: 7
• Chaffinch: 7
• Great Tit: 5
• Dunnock: 2
• Coal Tit: 2
• Long-tailed Tit: 2
• Greenfinch: 2
• Robin: 2
• Stock Dove: 1
• Wren: 1
• Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1

They only tell part of the story, though. The two Robins did not try to kill each other, as is the norm, but were clearly a pair, as they fed (on porridge oats) side by side. I think a nestbox will be required. However, the Coal Tits were intent on chasing each other round and round; they are very territorial.

The Long-tailed Tits were a bit unexpected as I haven't often seen them in the garden. They made a beeline for the fat-block feeder which makes me wonder if they've become more regular visitors while I've been at work.

I quite often hear Stock Doves cooing from nearby, but it was a nice surprise to see one sitting in the ash tree at the bottom of the garden for a couple of minutes.

The Blue Tits were particularly hard to count, as there was constant movement between the bush and the sunflower seed feeder. At first, I'd only managed to count four at once, which seemed a bit poor, but reinforcements arrived shortly after to boost numbers.

The last bird to add itself to the list was the woodpecker. Good to see he's still a regular visitor, enjoying hacking the fat-block to pieces. They cost £1.99 each but I have a cunning plan to make my own.

Still no House Sparrows, though, never mind Starlings...