It was the weekend of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch when people can watch garden birds and record the species that visit the garden (or local park, etc) during one hour.
On Saturday we had sleet all day and there weren't many birds about so yesterday D and I took part between 12.15 and 1.15 pm
What did we see?
Wood Pigeon x 4
Robin x 1
Blue Tit x 2
House Sparrow x 8
Magpie x 3
Goldfinch x 4
Coal Tit x 1
Blackbird x 1
Starling x 2
Collared Dove x 2
Just over the garden fence we could see a Great Tit and Carrion Crow but as they were not in the garden they weren't counted!
Mammal wise two Grey Squirrels were seen and unfortunately a cat appeared in the garden after 40 minutes which meant the birds all disappeared!
A few photos - sorry about the quality - they were through a kitchen window that needs a clean!
Wood Pigeon
Starling
Collared Dove
Grey Squirrel
I hope everyone is staying safe and well.
I thought about doing this but as the weekend arrived and I saw the weather forecast I new my garden birds would be hiding rather than coming out to play.
ReplyDeleteAs I predicted they didn't come out to play.
You had a great selection of visitors :-)
You saw a good selection of birds in your hour, I too took photos through windows that could do with a clean. Our pair of Collard doves didn't appear and we didn't see any Starlings at all which is unusual. Magpies too stayed away. We saw more birds than I expected to as the weather was so dismal. Haven't seen a squirrel for a day or two but they are around as this morning an acorn appeared near the bird feeder so assuming a squirrel put it down in favour of suet nibbles and forgot about it. Take care and stay safe:)
ReplyDeleteI have to smile. Across the tinterweb people are apologising that their windows are not clean! You are not alone. Glad you got a few birds to show up despite the bleak weather. I always did my survey around 3 p.m. on a Sunday. Haven't done it for years now. Love your mug in the first photo too.
ReplyDeleteCherryPie - Thank you. Saturday would have been birdless! Although I think zero records are as important as lots of species! After 10 minutes on Sunday my son said this is a waste of time we should have done it earlier and then the birds appeared :)
ReplyDeleteRosie - Thank you. Kitchen windows do seem to get dirty quick or at least that is my excuse! :) We don't seem to be getting as many species as usual at the moment so I was quite pleased at result. If lucky another 6 or so species could have appeared but they are the ones I don't see every day. Stay safe too and take care :)
Rustic Pumpkin - Thank you and lol! To be honest through a window clean or not is not good for photography! Plus son had prime position and I was trying to squeeze in at his side to get photos! Mug is EB - the Thomas Becket one as you may have guessed :)
I didn't really have time to dedicate an hour to actually counting the birds - and tbh, the number of Blue and Great Tits to and fro on the lawn feeders are uncountable as they fly out from the rhododendron bushes, grab a sunflower seed and then fly back under cover. No Goldfinches here (yet) but we have the usual run of wild birds we had at our old home, including the beautiful Siskins and Long Tailed Tits.
ReplyDeleteI did look often at the front garden feeder though, when I was unpacking boxes in the Guest Room, which has a huge window and faces South.
That was a good result, RR, especially since the weather was not exactly balmy! Your Grey Squirrel pic. is ADORABLE! I wonder if you are getting used to the not-so-new Blogger? I'm still pining for the old version...
ReplyDeleteBovey Belle - Thank you. I am not surprised you don't have time at the moment with all the unpacking :)
ReplyDeleteGreat news about the Siskins. They are only occasional visitors here though we do get LongTailed Tits most days.
Caroline Gill - Thanks so much. Pleased with result although five or so years ago I am sure we used to get more like 14/15 species. I still miss the old blogger too - have slowly got used to new one (I don't use html anymore) but it is time consuming. Also I have no idea how to amend/edit a post once published!
A pretty good list and great you got some photos, it was too dull and miserable for photos all weekend here!
ReplyDeletePam - Thanks :) Light not brilliant but I just upped the iso! Still haven't worked out best setting for birds for that camera though!
ReplyDeletethat's not a bad haul! try using an f-stop of f2.8.. the sensor is small so should give you plenty of depth of field
ReplyDeleteThe Quacks of Life - Thanks Pete. I was using aperture F2.8 and iso 400 to get the speed. Dull day though :( and son had prime position middle kitchen window so I had to try and squeeze in at the side of him!
ReplyDeleteWell done for doing this, I only discovered it was on after the event. I think it was the same weekend for the French one. We have so many sparrows here that not much else dares come to our feeders apart from a few brave Great Tits! You had a good selection and nice to see some squirrels as well.
ReplyDeleteMillyMollyMandy Thank you. Only just remembered to submit the results with 2 days to go!!
ReplyDelete