Big Garden Bird Watch.

I haven't seen one in a while, but we had one nearby when I first moved. Loved seeing it!

This time of year makes me happy with all the fledglings out.

It's lovely to see them playing but I do get a little nervous for them..
I get really anxious for the baby gulls. If they come down but can't fly yet or those who can fly but have no sense at all.

It's lovely to see them playing but I do get a little nervous for them..
I get really anxious for the baby gulls. If they come down but can't fly yet or those who can fly but have no sense at all.

Ah yeah, we have no gulls here. I just see lil great tits and robins.

I get really anxious for the baby gulls. If they come down but can't fly yet or those who can fly but have no sense at all.

This!
There are so many chicks down at the moment... just on the ground and crying, but can't fly yet.  God help anyone who happens to walk by (especially with 2 huge black hounds!)... the parents are so aggressive at protecting the chicks!
Yesterday I saw a chick attempt to fly off the ground... he did get slightly airborne, but only about 5 feet off the ground, and he crashed into a fence. 

I saw the woodpecker in the garden today! He was on one of the peanut feeders and stayed there for ages.   
He's a greater spotted.   

I saw the woodpecker in the garden today! He was on one of the peanut feeders and stayed there for ages.   
He's a greater spotted.   

He's a regular visitor now! 

I don't know if I've mentioned "my" magpies, but I had a lot of enjoyment watching a pair of magpies clumsily build a nest in a tree outside my bedroom window back in the spring.  Back when my husband was in the other part of the house, I'd just sit at my computer and look out the window and laugh at what I thought were particularly stupid examples of the birds (it turns out mine weren't special; magpies just aren't very graceful).  Anyway, I formed an attachment to them.

Over the summer, my husband and I took most of our meals out in the garden, and when we went in at the end of each day, the magpies would clean up any food we dropped.

So to give them some semblance of a healthy diet, we bought bird feed.  Fatballs, mealworms, etc.  We started looking at feeders to put it in, and ultimately, my husband suggested I make one... so I did...

The magpies, who used to pick up entire fatballs and fly off with them, now won't go near our offerings (even though the feeder is filled with fat balls), and, in fact, they don't really visit the garden at all since we put it up at the weekend.  But the tits love it!

My husband is happy with this outcome, because he found the magpies amusing but far too destructive.  I'm a little sad that my magpies might feel abandoned, but I do prefer the robins and tits that are visiting now.

They must prefer easy pickings, and your food! 

That feeder is a work of art.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2022 is coming. 

It's free and open to everyone, you can sign up here.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/?utm_source=20211208_EBGB_Activation&utm_medium=email&utm_term=&utm_content=button-activity-illustration-top-power-full&utm_campaign=EBGB&sourcecode=&cta_sourcecode=&modulecontent=

Beautiful feeder JFKimberly!


Ahh, I shall participate in the Bird Watch.  I can predict it now, lol. Sparrows, Collared Doves, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Black Birds, Starlings. But maybe we will get something else to count!

I will remember to participate this year, too!  My predictions are: blackbirds, magpies, rooks (they don't actually land in the garden because the magpies drive them off--an endeavour that redeems the magpies for my husband), great tits, blue tits, and robins. 

It's nearly here and it's not too late to participate!    https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/

Since we started feeding a variety of food (purchased from RSPB to contribute to them), we have had an explosion of birds visiting.  Soooo many new ones!  I'm really excited for the watch!

My husband and  I both signed up... would it mess up their count if we watch from the same place for two hours?  It looks like we just count the highest number of each type we see at any one time during our hour and submit that, so I'm not sure we should both do separate entries.

Since we started feeding a variety of food (purchased from RSPB to contribute to them), we have had an explosion of birds visiting.  Soooo many new ones!  I'm really excited for the watch!

My husband and  I both signed up... would it mess up their count if we watch from the same place for two hours?  It looks like we just count the highest number of each type we see at any one time during our hour and submit that, so I'm not sure we should both do separate entries.

Yes, highest number of each type you see at the same time.

Count the highest number of each bird species that you see at any one time, otherwise you could count the same bird twice. For example, if you saw a group of four starlings, and towards the end of the hour you saw two starlings together, please write four as your final count.
 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/biggardenbirdwatch/2022/bgbw_guide_printable_english_v2.pdf?from=How-to-button

I don't think it would work if you were together,

Can we take part as a group?

Yes, you can get together with friends or family to do Big Garden Birdwatch and count the birds you see together. However, you should only give us one set of results. If more than one group member submits results that would mean that we have more than one set of the same results.

If, however, your group all plan to do Big Garden Birdwatch separately from different locations, then you would need to add separate results.

https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/everything-you-need-to-know-about-big-garden-birdwatch/

Perhaps looking out of a different window at a different part of the garden would count as a different location though?

I don't think it would work if you were together...

Perhaps looking out of a different window at a different part of the garden would count as a different location though?

We do have the bedroom window, but that's mostly where some of the same birds we see from utilikitchen nest.  We'll just submit once, I think.  But it'll be good.  We can check each other's counts and identifications (did I mention all the new types we've seen the last week or so?) to make sure we're as accurate as possible.

Gonna see what we get this year!