An Enchanted Place

Day 242 of 365 Days Wild was also day 1 of the Big Garden Birdwatch 2021.

This event runs from 29th-31st January 2021. All you have to do to take part is to spend one hour counting the birds that you can see in your garden and then report your results on the RSPB website.

According to a YouGov survey commissioned by the RSPB, two-thirds of us in the UK have found solace in watching, and listening to, birds during lockdown. Now we can join in with a piece of citizen science that helps to track the numbers of different species, that can show how they’ve increased or decreased, where they need help and where given help is having a positive effect.

Here’s the table for the birds that I spotted in my garden.

Goldfinches	15
House Sparrows	6
Blackbirds	4
Wood pigeons	2
Greenfinches	2
Blue tits	1
Great tits	2
Magpies	2
Robins	1
Collared doves	1
Jackdaw	4
Long-tailed tits	0
Chaffinches	0
Wrens	0
Starlings	0
Song thrush	0
Carrion crows	0
Feral pigeons	0
Coal tits	0
Dunnocks	0

The last three birds in the table above are not ones I expect to see, never having seen them in the garden before, but I thought I’d include them in the table as they’re ones that are included on the birdwatch list. The others, though, are known to be visitors to our garden – some regular and some only occasional.

There are a number of other birds that we often spot in our garden that aren’t included on the RSPB list for the birdwatch, so I’m simply keeping my eyes out for these as bonus birds. This includes wagtails, woodpecker, pheasant, sparrowhawk, buzzard, heron, and a barn owl. The last of these I might have spotted in the distance this morning, though I can’t be certain.

The goldfinches were the most dominant bird in the garden today, rarely allowing anything else a chance on the feeders, or even on the table underneath the feeder.

The occasional sparrow did manage to find a perch, however.

If you fancy trying out something a little different, there’s also a little quiz on the RSPB website that you can do to find out what sort of bird you are. I’m a Robin it seems.

Happy birdwatching, everyone.