Big Garden Birdwatch

[alison]

It is the big garden birdwatch this weekend. No doubt all the birds we have had recently in the garden will disappear as usual. I wonder why that is, but every year they seem to disappear on this weekend. I normally decide to count them during the week instead so that when they don't turn up at the weekend I have already counted the regulars. We certainly have many more male blackbirds than females this time. I counted 8 males and only 2 females.
Hope you are all counting.

[Tricia]

I did a count - twice this afternoon. The first time I even got a newcomer, a very black and white pied wagtail, which according to my book is the yarrellii variation. The grey wagtail tried to chase him off, but eventually they decided there was enough food on the ground for both of them. They both spent most of the afternoon pecking around. Then, in the second hour the song thrush also made an appearance, so with the robins, blackbirds, goldfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits, a coal tit, three lovely long-tailed tits, a black cap pair, dunnocks, two collared doves, two pigeons, a magpie and numerous sparrows I had a very good mix of my usual garden birds. During the week I managed to photograph eleven gold finches on the feeders. Today there were only 7 at any one time.

I'm going to do another hour tomorrow afternoon and will then submit the best of the three.

I remember last year getting a very poor result, even though I have 9 feeders and put seed on the ground too.

[retropwr]

All I've had today is 7 sparrows, 3 blackbirds, 2 magpies, 2 great tits, 2 robins (they seem to have made friends and are regularly together since the snow), 1 starling, 1 collard dove and 1 crow.

[Tricia]

I've submitted my yesterday's results as they were marginally better than today!

[alison]

Mine was a very bad collection. I wonder where they all went. In fact I didn't even submit them, but I suppose I should have done just to show the lack of them. When the snow was here I had loads of birds but over the last couple of weeks they have dwindled right down. What I did get was a huge surprize to me. I had a pair of chaffinch. The male is certainly a colourful chap compared to the female. They have been coming every day to feed on the nuts and seeds. It has been a real treat to see them each day. I hope they become permanent residents.