Big Garden Birdwatch 2018

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year, taken yesterday, were:

Blackbird: 1
Dunnock: 1
Blue tit: 2
House sparrow: 6
Robin: 1
Starling: 2

The count was fairly representative of what we see most days. Other birds that we see regularly are coal tits, great tits, goldfinches and woodpigeons. Occasionally see bullfinches, long-tailed tits and collared doves.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2017

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year, taken last weekend, were:

Blackbird: 2

Dunnock: 2

Blue tit: 1

Great tit: 1

House sparrow: 3

Robin: 1

Starling: 2

Chaffinch: 1

Goldfinch: 1

The count was fairly representative of what we see most days. The only other birds that we see regularly are coal tits and woodpigeons. Occasionally see bullfinches long-tailed tits and collared doves.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2016

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year were:

Blackbird: 2
Dunnock: 1
Blue tit: 2
Coal tit: 1
Great tit: 1
House sparrow: 9
Robin: 2
Starling: 2
Jackdaw: 1
Chaffinch: 2
Goldfinch: 1

The count was fairly representative of what we see most days. Seems to be more sparrows about than in previous years. This month we have also seen bullfinches feeding on the seed heads of the St John's wort and honeysuckle.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2015

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year were:

Blackbird: 2
Dunnock: 2
Blue tit: 2
Coal tit: 1
Great tit: 2
House sparrow: 4
Robin: 2
Starling: 5
Wood pigeon: 1
Jackdaw: 2
Chaffinch: 1

The count was fairly representative of what we see most days (particularly in frosty weather). Goldfinches usually feature but were absent. This month we have also seen long-tailed tits and bullfinches.

Blue tits like the fat-filled coconut shell.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2014

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line.


Did the count on Saturday morning. The weather was horrible, windy, rainy though still quite mild; there were few birds about (I suspect most of them were sheltering) and the count was not at all representative of what we normally see. I thought about doing the count again later if the weather improved, but it remained pretty much the same all weekend. However my results for this year were:

Blackbird: 1
House sparrow: 4
Robin: 2
Wood pigeon: 1

Big Garden Birdwatch 2013

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year were:

Blackbird: 2
Dunnock: 1
Blue tit: 3
Coal tit: 1
Great tit: 1
Long-tailed tit: 2
House sparrow: 1
Robin: 2
Starlings: 2
Wood pigeon: 1

The count was fairly representative of what we see most days (perhaps because of the frosty weather). Chaffinches usually feature but were absent. This month we have also seen goldfinches and bullfinches on occasions.

Big Garden Birdwatch

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line.  My results for this year were:
Blackbird: 3
Dunnock: 2
Blue tit: 3
Coal tit: 1
House sparrow: 2
Robin: 2
Starlings: 4
Wood pigeon: 1
Crow: 1

For once the count was fairly representative of what we see most days (perhaps because of the frosty weather). Chaffinches usually feature but were absent. This month we have also seen goldfinches, bullfinches and long-tailed tits on occasions.

Big Garden Birdwatch

For over 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. Because of the hard winter it is particularly important this year.  My results were:

Blackbird: 3
Dunnock: 1
Chaffinch: 4
Coal tit 1
House sparrow 1
Robin: 1

We usually have goldfinches visiting the garden. Sometimes as many as six or seven at a time, but suddenly they seem to have disappeared.

Big Garden Birdwatch

For 30 years now the RSPB has been conducting a garden birdwatch at this time of year. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or on-line. My results for this year were
Blackbird: 1
Blue tit: 2
Dunnock: 1
Chaffinch: 4
Robin: 1
Starling: 3
Wood pigeon: 1

For several weeks now we have had goldfinches visiting the garden. Sometimes as many as six or seven at a time, but suddenly they seem to have disappeared.

Big Garden Birdwatch

For some years the RSPB have been running a garden birdwatch on the last weekend in January. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or online. My results for this year were

Blackbird : 2
Blue tit : 2
Coal tit : 1
Great tit : 2
Chaffinch : 1
House sparrow : 3
Robin : 1
Woodpigeon : 1
Starling: 3
Crow: 2

For the last couple of days we had long-tailed tits, goldfinches, apair of collared doves and a female sisken visiting, But of course they were nowhere to be seen today. As we were watching two swans flew overhead, something I've never see from the garden before. Can't be counted of course because they didn't land.

July Birdwatch

Wood pigeon 2
Blue tit 3
House sparrow 4
Starling - adult 4
Starling - juvenile 1
Crow 2

Not so many species this time. Quarrelsome starlings dominating the bird table at the moment.

June Birdwatch

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 2
Dunnock 1
Blue tit 1
Great tit 1
House sparrow - male 2
House sparrow - female 2
House sparrow - juvenile 1
Starling 5
Chaffinch - male 1
Blackbird 1
Collared doves 2
Crow 2

Frenzied feeding activity from the birds at the moment, particularly the sparrows and starlings. Young sparrows nearly as big as their parents, still asking to be fed in characteristic fluttring pose. There is a great deal of screeching and diversionary tactics when the crows are nearby. It's almost as if the crows are waiting for the young fledglings to leave the security of the nest.
The swallows are still swooping overhead, hoovering up the insects, and also sitting on the telephone wires.

May Birdwatch

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 4
Dunnock 2
Blue tit 1
House sparrow 2
Starling 2
Chaffinch - male 1
Blackbird - male 2
Crow 1

There are also swallows swooping overhead, hoovering up the insects. Starlings are nesting in the eaves, and busy flying backwards and forwards with food. If I go up into the loft I can hear the baby starlings cheeping - feed me, feed me, feed me.!

Book Reviews
Grief Encounters by Stuart Pawson
I always enjoy reading a Stuart Pawson crime novel. He has a light touch and his sense of humour appeals to me. His creation DI Charlie Priest is a likeable character.

The Secret Hangman by Peter Lovesey
Peter Lovesey is another author that I enjoy. The Peter Diamond novels are set in Bath, a city I know quite well, which always helps. This book was quite grizzly, with a serial hangman leaving bodies in well known tourist attractions in the city. I thought the plot was a little over contrived.

April Birdwatch

Spring is definitely in the air. Birds are displaying and chasing each other round the garden. Saw a pair of Collared Doves today. Have seen them in the garden before, but not for a while.

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 2
Dunnock 2
Blue tit 2
House sparrow - male 2
House sparrow - female 2
Starling 3
Chaffinch - male 1
Blackbird - male 2
Collared dove 2
Wren 1
Crow 1

March Birdwatch

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 2
Dunnock 2
Blue tit 2
House sparrow 3
Starling 1
Chaffinch - female 1
Blackbird - male 2

February Birdwatch

Dreadful weather today - wind, rain, sleet, snow, and gales. List of birds seen similar to January, but in addition saw a wren and a great tit. Wren seems to prefer the front garden, perhaps because it gets peace away from the aggresive robin, which always seems to be chasing the dunnocks away.

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 2
Dunnock 3
Blue tit 2
House sparrow 2
Starling 1
Chaffinch - male 1
Chaffinch - female 1
Blackbird - male 2
Blackbird - female 3
Great tit 1
Wren 1

Big Garden Birdwatch 26th to 27th January

For some years the RSPB have been running a garden birdwatch on the last weekend in January. The public are invited to take part by watching and recording the birds they see in one hour in their garden or a park and sending in their results by post or online.

My results for this year were
Blackbird: 3
Blue tit: 2
Dunnock: 3
Robin: 1
Woodpigeon: 2
Crow: 1

The house sparrows, chaffinches, and starlings that I normally see on a daily basis had mysteriously disappeared. For comparison, results from the last two years

Big Garden Birdwatch 2007.
Blackbird : 1
Blue tit : 2
Chaffinch : 2
Dunnock : 3
House sparrow : 4
Robin : 1

Big Garden Birdwatch 2006.
Blackbird : 2
Blue tit : 2
Coal tit : 1
Great tit : 1
Chaffinch : 2
Dunnock : 3
House sparrow : 3
Robin : 1
Woodpigeon : 1

January Birdwatch

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch takes place at the end of the month. I usually find that as soon as I sit down at the appointed hour to record the birds the little darlings all do a disappearing act, so I thought that on the first of every month I would record what I see during the day. Hopefully I will be able to build up a picture of the birds that frequent the garden through the year, and also be able to photograph most of them. January 1st seems a good day to start

Robin 1
Wood pigeon 1
Dunnock 2
Blue tit 1
House sparrow 6
Starling 1
Chaffinch - male 1
Chaffinch - female 1
Blackbird - male 1
Blackbird - female 1