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.

Birds can share!

I thought I would show you some of the birds which have been visiting our garden today, that I was unable to photograph for my last posting. School was closed again today, so I was able to get out in the snow again. Usually, the birds in our garden are always squabbling, especially the Starlings. It was pretty much the same today with some species. However, its interesting to see how some birds in the garden are able to share the feeders with other birds...

Earlier on in the year, Blackbirds were quite a rare sight in our garden, and they were very timid, often allowing smaller birds to feed first. As their numbers have increased into the winter, they seem to have gained some confidence, and they are now perfectly happy to feed with other species. That doesn't stop them argueing with each other though!

The new ground bird table really has been popular with the Blackbirds and Woodpigeons. This morning, they were both seen feeding on the table at the same time. The male Blackbird was quite bold in this case, and perfectly happy to feed alongside the pigeon. The table can hardly be seen now, as the wooden legs have sunk into the snow!

Male Blackbird and Woodpigeon

The Woodpigeon eventually waddled off, leaving the Blackbird on its own. Considering the photos were all taken through the glass of the kitchen window I thought they came out alright.

A little while later, the Woodpigeon returned and was joined by a female Blackbird.

Different Blackbird, same fat Woodpigeon (above)

I noticed how a Collared Dove just sat and watched the action from the top of the feeder pole.

Collared Dove

Today, I saw a Great Tit on the hole of the nest box from the house again. I just hope it would have a look inside. Maybe we will see this tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the week, and stay warm!

Guess what... more snow

School was closed today because of heavy snow. I awoke this morning to a fair amount of snow, and it has snowed almost non-stop since then. The last lot of snow has really only just disappeared, and we now have a new covering! Through other blogs and the news, I get the impression that the UK has generally been affected quite badly by the snow, particularly in Scotland and Northern England.

We got our fair share of snow here in Bucks though, and it has definitely been very cold, with temps set to drop overnight. Because of the constant snow, it has been hard to find a gap in the snowfall, so that I could take my camera outside without it getting wet. I did manage to get out in the early afternoon with my camera for 20 minutes or so, and spend some time in the snow-covered garden.

I noticed that some snow had collected on the mobiles hanging on a pole, near the vegetable patches. I thought the contrast between the snow and the copper-coloured mobile looked quite nice.

The snow is covering almost all small plants in the garden at the moment. Although the snow is obviously very cold, I guess it is acting as a kind of warm blanket on the plants, stopping them from freezing in the open. The photos below show some various plants in the snow.

Various grasses

More grasses

The birds were, unsurprisingly very hungry today, and we saw the regulars in the garden, plus a few extras. The feeders were filled up just as it was getting light, and by the time it had gone dark, they were all empty again. The fat feeders were particularly popular, and the ground bird table had plenty of visitors throughout the day. Several times during the day, I heard tapping noises on the entrance hole of the nest box, although nothing popped inside.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker visited again. This time however, it only spent about 20 seconds on the feeders, and then flew onto the trunk of one of our conifers at the end of our garden. It then began drumming on the trunk, and was doing so for about 5 minutes. I was amazed with the energy the bird had. I also saw a Redwing again, as well as a Song Thrush, both of which were hopping around on the lawn at the end of the garden. A female Blackcap continues to visit, although she does seem a little shy, and is easily intimidated by other birds. No photos of these, although, with their more frequent visits, maybe they will build up the confidence to feed nearer the house.

The regular birds visited in large numbers, particularly the finches and starlings. The photo below shows a Goldfinch. As usual, the Goldfinches were the more approachable garden visitors, so photos were easier.

Also around were Blue and Great Tits, some of which ended up feeding on the ground, once the feeders were empty. The Blue Tits are fairly easy to photograph in our garden because they are one of the more tame visitors. The Blue Tits which I have seen in our garden all seem to be in very good condition, very much ready for Spring.

The highlight of today, however, was the sighting of a Fieldfare which was seen in the shrubs of the railway bank, overhanging a garden 2 doors away. Because of the distance between me and the bird, I only managed a very poor photo, which I have cropped and placed in the photo montage below. It only stayed for about 10 seconds, and flew away soon after it saw me. Shirl in Scotland also managed to spot a fieldfare around her garden. It looks as though many of the more uncommon birds are using our bird feeders as much as they can in this cold weather.

Top left and main photo - Blue Tit, bottom left photo - Fieldfare

Whilst is is clear that the birds are visiting very frequently, it also seems that we are getting some mammals visit our garden in the night. Yesterday evening, at about 9:00, I saw some fox footprints in the snow outside our back door. I checked the footprints in our "Animal tracks and signs" book, and confirmed that they were fox footprints. I followed the footprints, and they led directly to the ground bird table. Footprints in the snow really do show a lot about what animals visit your garden, and what they get up to!

I will definitely look out for more prints in the future. Maybe we will see some fresh footprints tomorrow morning. After this snow disappears, I really hope it warms up a bit here soon. Whilst I am really enjoying watching the frantic winter action in the garden, I am definitely looking forward to spring-watching now!