2nd year doing the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch here in the Big Orange Hoose. It snuck up on me this year & I nearly missed it. Maybe I should tick 'yes' to emails... nah, they'll only send begging spam & piss me off.
It was baltic outside so I stayed in, loitering by an upstairs window overlooking the South West corner of the garden - that's where the bird feeders are, so it's a hot spot for flighty visitors.
I spy...
The hour zipped past. Hardest bit was trying to count the same species at the same time in 2 different locations - the bird table at the end of the garden, & the extra feeder by the back door we put up late last year. It was worth the effort though cos not all species hit both sites.
For example, if I'd skipped the back door feeder, I'd've missed this year's highlight: 2 Bullfinches. They took the top 2 perches for about 5 mins. They just sat & troughed, pausing occasionally to 'come & have a go' at any chancing Great Tit.
 |
| Nice of the Bullfinches to match their outfits to the house |
Also new this year was several visits from a mid-sized Tit with a black cap & pale buff chest. Apparently this could be either a Willow or Marsh Tit - they're almost identical in appearance. The names don't help either as they're both found in soggy woodland, & we've got plenty of that over the fence. These guys are best distinguished by their song... & I had no hope of catching that through the double glazing.
Nice to see lots of regulars too, & some great behaviour - the Robins & Blackbirds enforcing territory; the jittery Jay hoovering the crumbs - such a nervous soul for such a big bird. There was a great stand off between a Tree Sparrow on a feeder perch & a Nutthatch who was hanging on underneath, pecking at the Sparrow's feet. The Sparrow did not budge.
Scores on the doors
As submitted to the RSPB:
Bird
| Count |
|---|---|
| Blackbird |
4
|
| Blue tit |
3
|
| Bullfinch |
2
|
| Chaffinch |
3
|
| Coal tit |
2
|
| Dunnock |
1
|
| Great tit |
4
|
| Jackdaw |
10
|
| Jay |
1
|
| Magpie |
1
|
| Marsh/Willow tit |
1
|
| Nuthatch |
1
|
| Robin |
2
|
| Tree sparrow |
5
|
| Woodpidgeon |
2
|
It'll be nice to do some year-on-year stats in the future. Yes, I did just say that.
No Woodpecker this year, which is a bit of a shame. We've seen less of them in 2015 in general. But they do still visit occasionally to have a go at the peanuts. So cool :)
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