RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2012

Mr T

Mr T

Well-Known Member
I was just wondering how many of you guys will be taking part next weekend (28/29th Jan)? Anyone who is interested but is yet to sign up can apply online for your free pack.

The RSPB: Big Garden Birdwatch

Register as soon as you can if you are interested so that you can get all your forms in time.
 
mazfc said:
We usually do it at the school where I work
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Same here, the kids really look forward to doing it and they actually start to notice the differences between the birds they see in the playground.
 
I'll be doing it. I don't expect to see anywhere near the number of birds I recorded last year when it was very cold. Daffodils out and frog spawn in the pond here (Paignton) now.
 
Here is my list from this morning 10.05am to 11.04am

Long Tailed Tit x 5
Wood Pigeon x 3
House Sparrow x 11
Blackbird x 4
Collard Dove x 7
Magpie x 2
Feral Pigeon x 2
Blue Tit x 10
Dunnock x 5
Carrion Crow x 2
Great Tit x 7
Robin x 3

After the hour was up I also saw

Gold Finch x 4
Coal Tit x 6
Starling x 2
Song Thrush x 2

Will be donig it again tomorrow at the same time I hope weather permitting.
 
My rather unimpressive list:

Blackcap: 2 (1.1)
Blue Tit: 2
Goldfinch: 3
Great Tit: 1
House Sparrow: 20+ (impossible to count accurately)
Robin: 1
Wood Pigeon: 4

It's representative of numbers this winter, which has been mild so far. I think all the local blackbirds (I was feeding about a dozen last winter) are up at the zoo! My neighbour recently cut down a large tree that the birds used for refuge, nesting and hanging about in and that may have had an adverse effect on current numbers.
 
adrian1963 said:
Here is my list from this morning 10.05am to 11.04am

Long Tailed Tit x 5
Wood Pigeon x 3
House Sparrow x 11
Blackbird x 4
Collard Dove x 7
Magpie x 2
Feral Pigeon x 2
Blue Tit x 10
Dunnock x 5
Carrion Crow x 2
Great Tit x 7
Robin x 3

After the hour was up I also saw

Gold Finch x 4
Coal Tit x 6
Starling x 2
Song Thrush x 2

Will be donig it again tomorrow at the same time I hope weather permitting.
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Wow what a list! How big is your garden? Amazing you managed to see 10 blue tits all at once. I usually just have a pair fluttering around. Going to do mine this afternoon I think.
 
Yesterdays list was taken from the bottom of my garden today’s list is from the top of the garden where I can see all the feeding stations and the small brook that runs through the bottom of the garden (couldn’t see this yesterday as my shed is just in front of the brook).
Restocked all the feeding stations with the following Sunflower seeds black & white ones, Corn, Peanuts, Meal worms, Wild bird seed mixed, bread on floor around feeding stations, Apples cut in half around foot of tables and down by brook also one of the tables as Mixed parrot food on (Jays love this).

Here goes with today’s list.
Coal tit x 2
House sparrow x 15
Robin x 2
Great tit x 10
Blackbird x 4
Blue tit x 12
Dunnock x 6
Wood pigeon x 5
Magpie x 4
Jay x 3
Long tailed tit x 2
Collard dove x 5
Yellowhammer x 3
Chaffinch X 6
Lesser redpoll x 6
Feral pigeon x 1
Carrion Crow x 2
Black headed gull x 1
Grey heron (top of tree between mine and next doors) x 1
Greater spotted woodpecker x 1
Song thrush x 2
Siskin x 2
Starling x 5
Gold finch x 3
Sparrow hawk x 1

Fly over’s included
Red wing, Buzzard, Lesser black backed gull, Green woodpecker

Seen after count –
Pied wagtail x 1, Male Pheasant x 1, Green finch x 4, Wren x 2, Grey wagtail x 1
 
@Mr T I have a fairly large garden and it backs on to open countryside, just between the bottom of my garden and the fields behind we have a small brook which in the summer is great for other species.
I am a little disapionted this year as did not have any Mistle thrushes, Tree sparrows, Bull finches, Kestrels, Black caps or Lesser woodpecker.
I can't wait for summer as the fields behind are now turned over to naturalisation meaning the farmer will not be touching them for the unforseable future hoping for a few wading birds as thier is a shallow pool around 2 acres in size filled by a natural spring so here's hoping
 
adrian1963 said:
@Mr T I have a fairly large garden and it backs on to open countryside, just between the bottom of my garden and the fields behind we have a small brook which in the summer is great for other species.
I am a little disapionted this year as did not have any Mistle thrushes, Tree sparrows, Bull finches, Kestrels, Black caps or Lesser woodpecker.
I can't wait for summer as the fields behind are now turned over to naturalisation meaning the farmer will not be touching them for the unforseable future hoping for a few wading birds as thier is a shallow pool around 2 acres in size filled by a natural spring so here's hoping
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Sounds wonderful. What animals do you get other than the birds in your garden?
 
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I was thrilled to open the lounge curtains and find 5 long-tailed tits right outside in the shrubbery! I've heard them for a few days but it's the first time they've come down out of the hedges. Aside from them I got:
8 jackdaws
2 rooks
30 collared doves*
2 woodpigeons
3 robins
1 sparrowhawk (briefly before I saw it off!)
25 greenfinches*
4 chaffinches
25 sparrows*
40 starlings*
1 magpie
2 blue tits
1 coal tit
1 great tit
3 reed buntings
2 dunnocks
6 blackbirds

*approximate numbers since they don't stay still enough for accuracy!
 
adrian1963 said:
.
I am a little disapionted this year as did not have any Mistle thrushes, Tree sparrows, Bull finches, Kestrels, Black caps or Lesser woodpecker.
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I believe Mistle Thrush and Bullfinch numbers have declined considerably in recent years. Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is now a rarity in some areas where previously quite common.

You are fortunate to have Tree Sparrows, they are also very patchy in their distribution these days.
 
@Mr T - I have a couple of badgers which attend the ground feeding at least twice a week now but in the summer they may attend once every 2 or 3 weeks, Red foxes regulary, Grey Squirrels and over the last couple of months a small herd of muntjac deer have been seen at the bottom by the brook just before dawn.

In the summer we have loads of bats, swallows, swifts, house martins (a few), Lat year we did have a dipper for a couple of weeks but it disappeared, a Lapwing as been seen in the field just behind the brook in the last week so here hoping along with a Barn Owl and a couple of Tawny Owls just alittle further into the fields.
Myself I wish we had a lot more wading birds but thats just wishing to early with the newly set up pool a couple of years maybe.
I will post photographs from this summer when the pool goes public but may sneek a few before from the fence by the brook.
 
@maisie, thats a great list would love to have Jackdaws and rooks in my garden have to settle for just Carrion crows at present.
Would love to have Reed Buntings last time I saw one was at Sandwell Valley RSPB (going this wednesday 1st febuary) if anyone wants to meet up.
 
My garden was very quiet this morning , the birrds are rather nervous as a Sparrowhawk is around . I logged 2 Great Tit , 6 House Sparrow , 2 Dunnock , 5 Chaffinch , 2 Blackbird , 2 Blue Tit , 2 Robin ( first time this winter to see more than 1 together ) , 2 Goldfinch and 1 Nuthatch .

Later I saw Magpies , Collared Doves , Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Redpoll ( a few have been around for a couple of weeks as well as Siskins ) .
 
My list is put into shame by the others here

2 x blackbird
1 x Magpie
2 x Blue Tit
1 x Great tit
1 x Coal tit
2 x Dunnock
3 x Woodpigeons
2 x Collared dove
 
willtheman45 said:
My list is put into shame by the others here
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Remember, it's not a competition! The RSPB just wants us to record what we see. I spoke to two fellow-Paigntonians last night; one had seen 1 bird (but she's not been putting out food) and the other had a similar count to mine, with a garden festooned with food like mine. The RSPB will be able to deduce something from records like that.

On the subject of badgers, I used to be a fan but now prefer them in theory rather than in practice. Does anyone know how to dissuade them from digging up your garden, breaking through fences and being an expletive deleted nuisance? :mad:
 
@Gigit on the subject of Badgers as I have said before on other threads that the person 3 doors away as a set just over there bottom fence and the last time they put a cctv camera in the area counted 11 Badgers I have a couple that venture into my garden and I do feed them this I have found stops them from damaging anything else around the garden.

I feed mine with Sugar Puffs no milk just dry in a bowl handly placed by the bottom fence.

I also have Muntjac Deer again I feed them with Old veg again just over the fence I find this stops them venturing in the garden when I am growing my own veg.
 
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