RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2013

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is something which brings much of Britain together and has really become an exciting weekend which so many people look forward to. There is always such an impressive number of people that take part, and I'm sure this year was no different. 

Having said this, I had originally thought 2013 would have been the only year for a while where I wouldn't take part, at least in my garden back home, with me being at university in Reading. However, I happened to be popping home this weekend anyway, which worked out very nicely indeed. I went home on the train on Friday evening (only about a 40 minute journey altogether), stayed at home on Saturday and came back to university in the evening. It really is convenient living so close to university and being able to do stuff like this. This allowed me and dad to do the big garden birdwatch together on Saturday morning. 

I woke up about 8ish on Saturday morning to pop outside and make sure all the feeders were as filled up as possible. They had been filled up on Friday morning, but I wanted to make sure everything was topped up. We then started the counting at 9:15, with the conditions cold but sunny, with the ground still partly covered with snow. The result? Probably the most disappointing big garden birdwatch we've ever done. We saw a total of just 10 species, which is the lowest we've ever seen. Everything about the conditions would suggest that the bird activity would have been high. Not only this, but just a couple of weeks ago, before I came back to reading after the Christmas break, we were seeing some incredibly busy activity at the feeders. On the 7th January, I tweeted this on my wildlife twitter feed:

So we really don't know what caused the quiet bird life yesterday morning, but that's all part of the exercise really. If everyone saw tons of birds in their garden, then it wouldn't really be a realistic demonstration on the populations of garden bird species. Anyway, without further adieu, here is the list that we saw. 

• Dunnock- 1
• Blackcap- 2
• Chaffinch- 3
• Robin- 1
• Blue tit- 3
• House sparrow- 2
• Wren- 1
• Magpie- 1
• Blackbird- 1
• Collared Dove- 2 

10 species

To be honest, it wasn't the lack of species diversity that was most apparent, but just that the numbers of birds around were generally very low- only 16 individual birds were seen throughout the course of the hour. Amazingly, Woodpigeon, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit and Coal Tit all eluded us. These are all species we would probably expect to see on an average day. It was pleasing to see a Wren though- a species which is probably around the garden quite a bit but we only actually spot once every month or so. And it was good to see both a male and a female Blackcap- a species which tends to visit us all year round these days. 

I managed an average photo of the male Blackcap below. My 500D is still off for repairs, but I still had my 300mm lens at home, and I used Mum's 450D to take a few photos. All photos were taken through my bedroom window to avoid disturbing the birds, so the photos really aren't any good, but I wanted to get some photos up as a record of the day, and also simply because getting any photos to post on this blog at the moment is difficult.
 

And below, a photo of a rather smart looking Magpie:

The pair of Woodpigeons in the photo below very annoyingly decided to sit in the tree of the garden next door, not descending down into our garden to be counted...

... Only to fly down to the garden about 2 minutes after we finished counting the birds:

It wasn't all bad though. Throughout the whole morning, we actually saw a decent variety of birds in and around the garden, and flying overhead. The problem was, all of these other species decided not to visit during the hour we were recording in. There were times both before and after the counts where the feeders were busier, but nothing really close to what we were seeing a few weeks ago. 

One species that was particularly good to see was a Bullfinch (female), that landed in the trees at the end of the garden two doors down. Although it arrived during the hour, it was only seen in a nearby garden, and not our own, so couldn't be counted. A terrible record shot can be seen below:

Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Long-tailed Tits Woodpigeons, a Song Thrush and a Great Tit were all seen feeding in the garden outside of the hour that we were recording in. A Fieldfare was also seen at the top of a tree in our next door neighbour's garden, as well as flying overhead. A bad record shot of the Fieldfare can be seen below, just as it was flying off.

A number of birds were seen flying overhead throughout the morning. On 3 or 4 occasions, a small flock of Redwings could be seen flying over. Other birds flying overhead throughout the morning included Carrion Crow, Red Kite, Buzzard and Common Gull. So by the end of the morning, the number of species seen in and around the garden and flying overhead was 22- which really isn't too bad really. 

Not only this, but we noticed a Blue Tit pair check out the nestbox at the end of the garden for a good 5 or 10 minutes. Unfortunately, this nestbox currently has no camera in it, as the cable has become damaged again and needs replacing. Hopefully this should be sorted in time for the nesting season though, even though I won't be at home to watch what's going on! I'll have to get mum and dad to keep checking on the nestbox and sending me photos/videos if and when something happens.

Anyway, I think I'll stop rambling on about our garden birdwatch and start reading about what everyone else saw over the weekend (and entering our counts on the RSPB website). I hope you all had a great weekend of garden birdwatching, and saw some interesting species. Until next time, see you later :D  

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.

Long-Tailed birds

Unfortunately, it looks like we have waved goodbye to the warm weather that we have had this week. On the positive side, I still have some photos to show you that I took on Thursday evening when the light levels were fantastic. The birds that visited are all fairly common birds, but it was nice to see the Long-tailed Tit return again. Actually, there was a bit of a long-tailed theme with the visiting birds on Thursday. Chaffinches and Magpies (both long-tailed birds) were present for much of the time I was outside.

I do like the photo of the Long-Tailed Tit in the photo below. I must say that it is a little bit weird though. The bird looked straight at me whilst I took a photo of it, and the rest of the body was nearly hidden from view, so the shot just shows the head of a Long-Tailed Tit-strange, I know. I don't think I can think of any other garden bird that can hang upside down like the tiny and agile Long-Tailed Tit. I also can't think of any other garden bird that has a beak small enough to finish off the tiny, tiny bits of fat left in the fat feeder.

The Chaffinches have to be the highlight of the evening though. The male Chaffinch, which is in all of the photos below was in the garden for the longest time, choosing the best opportunity to take a sunflower heart or 2 from our fairly new feeder. If anything, the light may have been too bright as it reflected off the feeder. The males are so brightly coloured at the moment that they are some of the most colourful garden birds at the moment.

I always find it funny to watch them struggle to grip on to the feeder perches. They look some of the most awkward garden birds as they feed, very much unlike the Long-Tailed Tit in the first photo. Apparently, Chaffinches are one of the most common prey items of the Sparrowhawk. This really doesn't surprise me. They don't seem to mind feeding with other birds and aren't quite so quarrelsome and bossy as the Greenfinches.

Just before I was about to go inside, a pair of Magpies dropped in for something to eat. It amazes me how they are able to squeeze onto the bird table like they did in the 2 photos below. I reckon its that long tail that gives them the balance needed to hang on the bird table so easily. The smaller Collared Dove really struggles to get a grip on the table. The good light just shows the amazing colours on the feathers of the Magpie too. They may be troublesome, but they are fantastic birds to watch.

In the photo below, you will see the Magpie look straight at you... just like the LTT photo at the top of the post. Scary stuff!

The Blue Tit just seemed happy to sit in the apricot tree watching the birds feeding and the sunset. I wonder if this is our nesting female. If so, did it go into the nestbox shortly after this photo was taken to roost for the night?

So there you have it... I won't be posting again until at least Monday, because I am going down to the south coast to see my Grandma for the weekend. I should be going to a nature reserve on Saturday morning for the easter bird challenge, so I'll look forward to posting on that.

Birds in April sunshine

Its always nice to see the sun shine so much at this time of year. It was pretty warm all day yesterday, and the birds have been busy at our bird feeders all the time. It has mostly been the usual suspects in the garden, but its always pleasing to see some less common birds visit the garden, especially if you have tried to attract them with different foods. The good light is good for taking photos too.

The Long-Tailed Tit in the photo below has got to be my favourite. The quality of the shot probably isn't amazing, but the amazing agility of the tiny bird makes the photo quite quirky. Most other birds would probably be unable to access the fat cake in that feeder, but this one decided to hang upside down off the feeder in order to get to the food! At the moment, there only seems to be one Long-tailed Tit visiting, instead of the small flock that sometimes come.

The Blue Tit pair that are nesting in our nestbox at the moment are frequently seen at the feeders, or on their favourite look-out perch in next-door's garden. The first photo shows a Blue Tit that looks like it is feeding on the buds of the plant they use as a perch. Maybe not quite as agile as the Long-tailed Tit in the photo above, but nonetheless very entertaining to watch as they flit from branch to branch.

The female Blue Tit looks around to make sure she is safe before flying into the nestbox to do some housework in the photo below.

Big, bold and green, the Greenfinch has been a common sight again recently. I don't think we still see them in the numbers that we used to (9-10 at any one time) but they arrive in 4's or 5's and are quite aggressive when they scare off smaller birds and fight with one another. Again, Greenfinches are quite hard to photograph probably because they are quite timid, and my camera doesn't have a good enough zoom to get a picture from a long-distance.

The chaffinch in the photo below the Greenfinch is just one of many visiting at the moment. One of my planned postings for the next week will include some more Chaffinch shots in even better light. I have always thought that they are a bit useless at clinging on to bird feeders, and seem to frantically try to get a grip on a feeder perch.

Again, the photo below isn't the greatest- mostly because of the swing which takes up much of the shot. However, at a second look on the computer, I was amazed at the colours on the Magpies' wing and tail feathers. The shiny blue is stunning-don't you think. I also noticed the fact that the Magpie had managed to turn its head right round so that it was facing the opposite direction to the rest of its body. There is more to the Magpie than you first think!

Just before I finish, I hope you like the change of blog template. I like to present my blog well, so I am constantly making changes to themes, colours, fonts, etc.

Sunday morning birdwatch

This morning is very wet here in Bucks, so this morning's birdwatch was a little tricky. I did plan to do it yesterday, but I was both short of time and short of battery power in my camera. I was unable to take the film from the "birdwatch hut" as I now call it, because the rain was driving right into the window. This means the footage was taken from my bedroom (further from the feeders). There was also a problem with uploading one of the videos onto Blip, so I'm afraid that there is only one video so far. I will try to upload it later and update the post. This mornings videos will show some of our garden pests, as well as a few other visitors.

I find that most of the time, the birds I regard as pests tend to visit at the same time. The Grey Squirrel, Magpie and Collared Dove below all visited in the space of about 5 minutes. The Collared Dove was sat on the bird bath getting very wet in the proccess. It did eventually take a drink, and then flew off. The rain outside made the video quality decrease, as you will find with the Magpie clip. If you look carefully however, you will see that the Grey Squirrel actually scares off the Magpie (which doesn't happen very often). Please check back tomorrow for the video of them.

Quite a few finches visited this morning. I often find that in the wet weather, these birds can be the only ones to visit. The Greenfinches and Goldfinches used all 4 perches of the feeder as you will see in the video below. Again, the video isn't the best and the colours are quite washed out but it does give you an idea of how they feed together. The Goldfinch is personally one of my favourite birds, and even in the bad light this morning their colours are still very bright.



I wonder what the birds are doing in Shirls garden in Scotland. I hope she sees some more exotic birds than I saw this morning. Its interesting to compare photos and text about birds in different parts of the world. You would be surprised about just how different the sightings are. Just in case you didn't know, it was Feed the Birds Day yesterday and today, so get feeding! Also, there are plenty of events going on around the country that you can get involved in. I certainly made sure that the birds were well fed yesterday and today.

All videos were taken in my garden this morning.

Fat is in fashion!

At the moment, our fat balls and blocks are particulary popular with the birds. We have had Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits, Blackbirds, Starlings, Robins and Magpies. The Long-tailed Tits are very entertaining, and I saw 10 all crowd around the fat ball feeder. I find it quite amusing that they scavenge for the last few crumbs of fat. It is good that they are visiting and I hope they are here to stay! We recently bought a fat block, which had all gone within 2 days, mostly because of the Blackbirds. The strange thing is that, normally, the fat products are more popular in winter, but there are no signs of this at the moment.
The picture below shows what I think is a young blackbird, judging by its unusually light plumage. The females are slightly darker than this.

Garden update

I'm glad I can now post something with some of my own images and videos. The feeders are quite busy at the moment, but larger birds such as Magpies and Wood Pigeons are taking over. The hanging bird table on our feeder pole, and the fat are particularly popular with the Magpies. They are also keen on the peanuts I left loose on the table. I have to admit that they are very entertaining to watch, but they are very intimidating to smaller birds, such as Blue Tits. When the large birds have gone, the smaller ones take advantage, and take as much food as quickly as possible. As I was outside, I noticed the return on the Starlings in our garden. They had a nibble at the fat balls before disappearing.

Male Greenfinch and female House Sparrow:

Young Robin: Collared Dove: Junenile Goldfinch: Starling:

Goldfinch:

Blackbird:

Magpie:

House Sparrow video:

Blue Tit and Coal Tit taking brief snack from feeders:

Birds and animals update

This morning, I went outside to take some pictures and videos of our garden birds and animals to show you. Firstly I would like to mention the strange absence of starlings recently, who used to feed on the fat feeder in large numbers. However, these starlings have been replaced by the slightly more dull and cheeky magpies. The magpies eat the fat balls as much as they can, before flying off with the rest of it in its beak. I took a picture of a magpie yesterday (probably a juvenile) because of its short tail. I am a bit confused though, because whenever I see this scrawny looking bird, the tail hasn't grown an inch since last time. I took pictures of blue tits, house sparrows, robins, wood pigeons and magpies. I also, as promised, got a good shot of 2 lizards basking in the sun. I have seen plenty of lizards lately, and they seem to like overgrown areas, with small open areas too bask in. The seed mix I am using at the moment is much more popular with the smaller birds, such as blue tits and great tits. I also spotted some long-tailed tits in our front garden yesterday. Please click on the images to enlarge them: