RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Just a quick posting to show our results for the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch. At about 8:30 this morning, I topped up the feeders, ready for the count. With a cup of tea, some binoculars, and a pen and paper, we started the count at 9:00 and finished at 10:00. Here's how it went...

We saw a total of 14 species this year, one more than we did last year. I was pleased to see a Song Thrush pop by, as it did for the birdwatch last year. It's not a bird we see too frequently. The usual suspects also visited, although we didn't see a Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit or Starling this time around. However, the most frequent visitor was a Blackcap, which was around for most of the hour. Here's the full count:

Blackbird x2
Chaffinch x3
Dunnock x3
House Sparrow x5
Magpie x2
Blackcap x2
Great Tit x2
Song Thrush x1
Woodpigeon x8
Blue Tit x2
Collared Dove x2
Goldfinch x5
Greenfinch x4
Robin x2

I enjoyed the hour, and I have enjoyed checking out other people's counts too via their blogs. Later on in the day, I saw a a couple more species, including Long-tailed Tit and Starling. I was also glad I managed to get a few shots of the Blackcaps throughout the day. They have been showing great interest in the new ground bird table, which is fairly close to the house. The did struggle to get a look in at times though with the Woodpigoens and Magpies around! The photos in the montage below were taken after the birdwatch.

Left- Magpie, top right- Female Blackcap, bottom right- Male Blackcap

I noticed that one of the female Blackcaps was looking around the ivy on the garden fence. The photo below shows it perching on the cable for the camera nest box.

It was great to see a Robin have a look inside one of our open-fronted nest boxes today. We have seen two male Robins chasing each other around for a while now, and it looks as though one of these males is now paired up with a female. I could be wrong, but it looks as though this is the case. Anyway, I was glad to see that the Robin found the box amongst the ivy, it really is quite well hidden. Maybe it would be worth setting up a camera in this box.

Lastly, I would like to apologise for not keeping up with your blogs and commenting. I have had quite a bit of school-related work recently, mostly revision for GCSE mock exams, which are over the next two weeks. I expect that, from now until the end of June, I will only post when I can. Half-term soon though, so I expect I will be able to keep up with the blog then. Have a great week, and I look forward to seeing many of your Garden Birdwatch postings soon.