Starts this Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th January
This RSPB citizen science bird count is fun for all the family.
Just one hour over the weekend to record what you can see from your garden or nearby greenspace. The answers can be recorded and sent back to the RSPB.
What is Big Garden Birdwatch?
Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers like you take part, helping to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.
This RSPB citizen science bird count is fun for all the family.
Just one hour over the weekend to record what you can see from your garden or nearby greenspace. The answers can be recorded and sent back to the RSPB.
You’ve got to rely on them turning up first, before you can make a note of them!
Last year I had a Jay and a Greater Spotted Woodpecker on two different occasions, but I can pretty much guarantee that they won’t be there this year - I’m not even sure the starlings will play ball, with the weather that’s forecast. 🤷🏼♂️
Yesterday we had 22(!) long tailed tits at once on the feeders. Joyful chaos!
Once the numbers get over about 8 or 9, its chuffing hard to count them. I had 13 (I think) goldfinches plus a couple of greenfinches in the tree yesterday, but the buggers won't sit still for long enough to be absolutely sure. And they don't half squabble.
Well I've done my hour this morning but I dont see why I can't do another hour at an another time and instead submit that, not both and not add them together. Seems a bit daft to submit an hour when 15 people walked past and scared everything off. If it's supposed to be a way of seeing what species are active in the area.
I decided to start this morning and only spotted - 1xsiskin, 7x goldfinch and 1x chaffinch. All the usual suspects are nowhere to be seen. Will try later instead.
3 blue tits
1 wood pigeon
1 dunnock
1 robin
1 coal tit
1 wren
Think everything was in hiding, too windy. No finches for a change. Enjoyed the relatively quiet hour with #1
I saw
2x Kestrel
5x Red Kites
2x Buzzards
5 x Magpie
50+ starlings
muntjac deer
but as they were all seen during a 3 hour bike ride it doesn’t count apparently!
Well, it seems that if I want to see any of the usual suspects, I’ve got to be looking earlier in the morning than I would usually do at the weekend.
So far there’s been:
4 x blue tits
2 x marsh tits
2 x coal tits
2 x great tits
2 x blackbirds (male and female)
6 Goldfinches
Robin
Dunnock
Wren
2 x Goldcrests
20+ Starlings (part of a larger flock of 150+ birds)
1 x wood pigeon
The magpie pair haven’t been around much lately, and the pair of crows have been around, but not into my garden.
I’d hoped the Woodpecker and the jay that pitched up last year would have been back, but sadly not, which is a shame, but as that was the first time I’d ever seen them, I’m not too surprised, really. 🤷🏼♂️
I've just submitted our results and the bird count came up as average, which considering how windy it was, is good. Nothing was in the garden for the first 10 minutes. Then a frenzy of goldfinches and greenfinches.
1xrobin, 1xblackcap, 2xstockdoves, 2x feral pigeons, 2xwoodpigeons, 1xsiskin, 8xgoldfinch, 4xgreenfinch, 1xblackbird, 1xdunnock, 1xbluetit, 2xchaffinch, 1xgreat tit and 1xcoal tit.
Amazingly I saw a siskin but not a lot of the usual suspects of sparrows, wren, magpie and quite often longtailed tits.
OH has just got Merlin app for birdsong identification, really useful but not perfect, one Starling mimicked a buzzards call and the app said buzzard! plus you can hear the birdsong, ID them and then you have to spot the little blighters;) Weather not too bad with us so managed a few birds 🙂
2-3pm today:
Blue tit 8, House sparrow 10, Great tit 1, Coal tit 1, Long tailed tit 2, Feral pigeon 5, Wood pigeon 2, Stock dove 1, Collared dove 10, Starling 9, Jackdaw 8, Chaffinch 3, Crow 1, Blackbird 1.
Saw Nuthatch and Robin this morning but not in the hour.
This years selection:
2 x Woodpigeons
9 x Goldfinches
2 x Blue tits
2 x Blackbirds
10 x House Sparrows
1 x Robin
1 x Dunnock
1 x Greenfinch
1 x Collared dove
1 x Jackdaw
1 x Feral Pigeon
3 x Starlings
5 pigeons
2 collared doves
2 jackdaws
5 goldfinches
1 magpie
2 lesser spotted woodpeckers
lesser spotted woodpeckers
Wow. I've never seen one, and you get them in the garden. Can we visit?!
We did ours after lunch. Probably wasn’t the best time but we managed 22 (though I’m not entirely sure how many sparrows).
We've had loads of stuff in the garden (including a jay, wrens and nuthatches) but in Jan…
Another user of Merlin to hunt down the visitors. Went out Saturday afternoon as unremitting rain correctly forecast for today. Pheasants turned up too late for inclusion.
8 Jackdaw, 3 Woodpigeon, 3 Sparrows, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Long tailed Tit, 2 Robin, 2 Chaffinch
and 1 each of Rook, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Dunnock, Linnet, Greenfinch, Wren, Coal Tit, Great Tit
Don't ever recall seeing lesser spotted. Just great spotted, green woodpeckers (get one outside my office in spring) and black woodpeckers (seen them 2x while stopped on a bike ride eating a snickers, not all that far in to the forest)
Good job I'm not in UK. Most I'd have been able to log would be feral pigeons and some magpies.
That photo of the long-tailed tits is just marvellous! They’re such cute little birds, like feathery lollipops.
I sent my result in yesterday evening but if I’d waited until today I could have added a grey wagtail. I get pied wagtails as well, sometimes both together, but not regularly.
Sadly, although I hear them chirping all around, I never get sparrows these days, and I’ve no idea why. They’d often be hiding in my hedges out front, with a male perched on a high spot keeping a lookout, but they just don’t appear now.