Big Garden Birdwatch results January 2011

[rolf]

Here's mine, completed by 09:45, conspicuous by their absence this morning were the three or four Sparrows, the Dunnock and the pair of Marsh Tits, but then I rarely see both male and female Blackcap in the garden at the same time, so I guess it all evens out.

Blackbird 2
Blue tit 2
Chaffinch 1
Coal tit 2
Collared dove 2
Goldfinch 2
Great tit 2
Long-tailed tit 1
Robin 3
Starling 5
Woodpigeon 2
Blackcap 2

[ladylouise62]

My list is always pretty similar and short - the only thing that changes is the odd visit of a ring-necked dove - other than that it's 12 Sparrows, A Robin, a Dunnock and a Blackbird. Sometimes I get a Blue Tit or 2 but I rarely get any other visitors ( I used to get a Wren & Starlings).I think that with the Sparrows actually living here is a bit of a downmarket place

[rolf]

Do you do both front and back gardens?

[Catherine]

Arrived back home in time to do a late afternoon count - so there was no GSW (a morning visitor) to be seen, no Crows or Wrens -and I missed the LTTs too!

However, within an hour in one visit, we DID count as many as;

3 Blackbirds (fewer than usual)
1 Blackcap (there are 4 in the area, with 3 at one time our record!)
7 Blue Tits (at least...)
2 Bullfinches (the pair of them visited on separate feeders as usual)
1 Coal Tit
4 Chaffinches (the norm)
3 Dunnocks (eating fatballs in feeder from branches nearby)
2 Great Tits
4 Greenfinches (fewer - morning and lunchtime feeders)
3 Goldfinches (fewer - morning and lunchtime feeders)
2 Magpies
1 Nuthatch
1 Robin
1 Song Thrush (a beauty!)
3 Woodpigeons

Apart from the birds, we had a Squirrel - stuffing himself at his feeder and a little opportunistic Bank Vole grabbing the droppings from the fatball and nut-feeders at the end of the pond!

[rolf]

Nice variety there Catherine.

Just spent half an hour looking out at the garden and most of the species I reported in the count turned up in larger numbers, plus the usuals who didn't make the count turned up. Perhaps they know what's going on.

[Catherine]

I'm sure you're right, Rolf!

A GSW (f) turned up later - and we'd only had a male this year before that - then another Blackcap came in to get chased away by the first one - not to mention the LTTs coming in late!

I WAS really chuffed that the Bullfinches were around though - as they'd been AWOL for some time until recently!

No Buzzard though - at all....

[ladylouise62]

Do you do both front and back gardens?

No - just the front - to be honest, I don't get too much in the back garden either. I might see the Blackbirds a bit more, and the odd Starling, but most activity is in the front... but then so is most of the food Actually, to prove that - I have had a feeder (with a wide base that makes it easy for Robins) filled with dried grub things that are supposed to be very attractive to Robins. All I can say is that even though I only Filled it a short way up I had to chuck some away before refilling it and will probably have to chuck the end of it again. The back garden just isn't 'the place to be' Mind you, last January, in the snow, they were queuing up for it!!!

[ladylouise62]

Catherine - a lovely mix, but I agree with Rolf - you can guarantee that the day before or the day afetr there would be loads of extra birds - in fact I have vague recollections that last year on the same day but not when I was doing my count, I got something I'd never seen before!