Another Big Garden Birdwatch

So how did your Garden Birdwatch go?

I have to admit to being a little disappointed in my visitors today. Although I don’t appear to have been alone, for many on the RSPB community forums it was a case of the minute the snow went, the bird went with it!

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/getinvolved/birdwatch/f/3711/t/95161.aspx

Most of my usual friends were about,  although  some of these were down on expected numbers.

The Garden seemed unusually quiet today. The weather was fine; the heavy snow of Friday evening had thawed. It was windy though and those arriving seemed easily spooked especially by gulls flying over? I assumed there may have been a Sparrowhawk about it, but if it was I didn't see it.

My Count

Starlings    6    (Usual 9+)

Blackbirds  3   (Recent 8+)

Sparrows  16+  (Normal, but difficult to count very skittish).

Blue tit  2     (This year's nestbox pair- female roosting)

Great tit  2    (Another pair for the garden)

Robins  2    (Another pair for the garden)

Dunnock 1   (Usual 2)

Pigeon 1   (Missing the rest of his pesky flock thankfully)

Goldfinch 1  (Recent 7 up to 14)

Coal tit 1     (Normal)

Jackdaw 1   (Infrequent 1/2)

Missing recent daily visitors: Wren, Grey Wagtail, Magpie, Song Thrush, Jay, Chaffinch.

A moment with the ones that stayed away.

Pondside mealworm eater - Grey Wagtail

Water louse on the menu for our pond foraging Wren

A long awaited winter visitor, arrived in the snow on
 21/01/13,  dined on apples.

Monkey nuts, a Jay's favourite  snack

Well that was my day, how about you?
Laura

BTO Garden Birdwatch- A rare visitor for David

When one watches a certain bird place frequently, like your own garden, you get to be familiar with all the regular species that visit.  So when something different flies in, you spot it immediately.  For me the excitement came last week, when I saw a chaffinch that looked different.

The gizz said –“not chaffinch”.  First sight was part hidden in the branches and then it disappeared.  This gave me opportunity to dive for my bird book so I could confirm that it was indeed – a Brambling.  A few moments later, it returned allowing me to be secure in my identification and record it in Garden Birdwatch (GBW). This is only the second recording for my garden in 17 years; the first was November 2010, so I am well pleased.

Can I endorse Laura’s encouragement for you to join GBW?  The best bit is that the birds in your garden can join those in the 6,500 other gardens spread across Britain and you don’t need to be an expert.  You record what you can identify each week and you build up your expertise as you go along.

Data can be entered on paper or online.  This is a continuous data base, unlike the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which is once a year.

Costs £17 per year and well worth it for the quarterly magazine, the BirdTable. Full of facts and figures, bird profiles, Q’s and As, letters etc.  Have a look at the web site.

http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw

David  Holland 

BTO Garden Birdwatch update

The year-round BTO Garden BirdWatch reports busy times in gardens this autumn. The 40 or so most frequently-spotted garden birds, have been 15% higher this October compared with the previous three. Woodland birds have particularly caught the eye. 

With seed and nut crops in the countryside appearing to be patchy, many woodland species have turned to bird feeders (as have Grey Squirrels) Many householders over recent weeks who have been enjoying watching Coal Tits busily caching food for the winter. This diminutive bird was up 62% in gardens this October compared with the three-year average. 

Winter visitors to our shores, Bramblings, have also been delighting householders. Numbers of this attractive finch in gardens vary annually depending on levels of immigration and food availability in the UK countryside. Normally Bramblings move more into gardens from mid to late-winter, but this year has seen an unexpected early peak. Is this the start of bigger things to come over the next few weeks, we wonder? Also sweeping onto feeders in larger numbers than normal have been Siskins – their numbers four times higher this October compared with the recent average for this month.

Other seed and nut specialists have been taking advantage of offerings provided by householders. These include Nuthatch (up 90% this October), Jay (up 85%) and Great Spotted Woodpecker (up 66%).

 BTO research shows these and several other species are known to make greater use of gardens when natural food in the countryside is scarce. The influx of birds into gardens hints once again at the vital role that gardens play in the wider foraging environment of many birds.

In parts of the countryside, berries also appear to be thin on the ground this autumn. In gardens, however, birds are able to exploit different fruits and berries owing to the presence of many native and non-native trees and shrubs. These are currently attracting several members of the thrush family – most notably Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Redwing and Fieldfare – in unusually high numbers. Providing some fruit, such as apples or pears, will help cater for these thrushes, and will also help to sustain visitors such as Blackcap.

Get involved, record your garden visitors:

 http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/gbw

Laura