Garden Birdwatch 2018

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Garden Birdwatch 2018

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Fee

Joined: 21 Mar 2005
Posts: 15922
Location: Earth

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 7:34 am Post subject: Garden Birdwatch 2018
Results are in! https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/results

sgt.colon

Joined: 27 Jul 2009
Posts: 7380
Location: Just south of north.

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 10:21 am Post subject:
Sad about the Blackbirds and Robins. Blackbirds are one of my favourites.

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 10:47 am Post subject:

When I grew up here, many years back, our cottage was thronged with house sparrows, but after a few decades of cat-loving neighbours and hedge-hating farmers they all disappeared.
A couple of years ago a pair nested under the eaves and now we have a happy, bustling family of about a dozen flying in and out of the pyracantha pillars.
The blackbirds used to nest in the same place, facing a large rookery. Their fledglings were regularly picked off by rooks who flew them screaming to feed their rooklets, a horrible time here. They now nest in more secret places on the other side of the studio; I hope the baby sparrows won't seem so attractive.

frewen

Joined: 08 Sep 2005
Posts: 11405

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 1:45 pm Post subject:
I'm really happy to hear you have house sparrows. I keep trying to feed the birds and discourage the cats.

wellington womble

Joined: 08 Nov 2004
Posts: 15051
Location: East Midlands

Posted: Wed Mar 28, 18 3:37 pm Post subject:
They survive our plague of cats, probably because they nest in our loft. I rescued two fledglings from our chickens last year.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15988

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 18 7:10 am Post subject:
We only have one robin, we think, that comes to beg for food in the garden, but have loads in the woods. In fact wherever of whatever you are doing there, there is a robin supervising. Sparrows seem to be erratic; don't see any then pass a bush that is twittering with them.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8945
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Thu Mar 29, 18 7:23 am Post subject:

Next door to us has a huge Laurel bush, which we think the blackbirds nest in.
The jackdaws are trying to get back in his roof - he has roofing felt tiles over wood, and in his eaves..they are most annoyed that the holes were closed up when the house was wrapped.
Next door the other side has starlings nesting under the tiles

Otherwise we have a pair of doves, two pairs of crows that sit on the telegraph pole at the end of the garden ,a few sparrows and three flocks of racing pigeons nearby.
We're just on the edge of the scheme, so see more than most..a bit of a bird desert really

however on Hannahston woodland 5 minutes walk away its thankfully a lot different

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15988

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 6:57 am Post subject:

We have a peregrine falcon who uses a pylon near us. Not sure if it is nesting, as it doesn't seem to be there all the time. Have had a couple of pigeons it dropped, and found another that it must have killed. The rooks come and pull bits off our birch tree, but they have moved to the next pylon in the line. Have greenfinches, chaffinches, thrushes, blackbirds, pigeons and have seen a greater spotted woodpecker and a goldcrest. Don't see all of them all at once, and we would be hard pushed to get very many for the birdwatch, as I am sure half the birds hide for it.

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 10:15 am Post subject:
Not just us with Birdwatch then, its always an unusually quiet time here, but there are birds everywhere a couple of days later.

gz

Joined: 23 Jan 2009
Posts: 8945
Location: Ayrshire, Scotland

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 10:35 am Post subject:
Out on the bike yesterday, heard a woodpecker hammering and curlews calling. (and saw a hare )

derbyshiredowser

Joined: 11 Feb 2007
Posts: 980
Location: derbyshire

Posted: Fri Mar 30, 18 2:03 pm Post subject:

We are 2.8 miles from Derby city centre we always have over a dozen blackbirds in the garden plus sparrows all types of tits, field fares, goldfinch and crows so we were looking forward to the big bird count. Then on the day of the count bang a juvenile sparrowhawk picks up a blackbird smashes it against the patio window and then eats it on the lawn. We are only now having the birds back to the garden but on reflection a sparrow hawk has to eat.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15988

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 18 6:39 am Post subject:
They do, but they can cause chaos among the birds and elsewhere doing it. I came across one who made a kill and decided to eat it in the middle of a fairly busy local road. The look in its eye discouraged any cars from coming near it.

gythagirl

Joined: 18 Feb 2010
Posts: 1467
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 18 10:24 am Post subject:
I was also surprised to see the blackbird and robin standings as we have at least 8 bolshie blackbirds chasing each other round at times, and 4 robins - we like others have seen a big increase in goldfinches and long tailed tits. As I type this our first 'confirmed' common reed bunting is inside one of the bird feeders about 4 feet from the window - we were thrilled!!!

yummersetter

Joined: 26 Jan 2008
Posts: 3241
Location: Somerset

Posted: Sat Mar 31, 18 12:39 pm Post subject:

Rooky racket at sunset yesterday - our rookery has had about a dozen birds through the winter, but there was so much din I went out to look. Great excitement as about 150 rooks were flying round the trees, showing off with acrobatics and checking the nests. The sounds weren't hostile, more thrilled to meet again, insofar as you can tell with their range of sound.
Must just be a wandering band touring the area, as the visitors had left by this morning. Just ten birds mooching about in the beech trees.

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