This weekend is peak birdfeeder activity. At least, that’s what the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the RSPB, hopes as the end of January is when it holds the Big Garden Birdwatch. The RSPB asks you to observe the birds that touch down on your garden, or on a nearby green patch, over a one-hour period any time this Friday 29th Jan, Saturday 30th, or Sunday 31st, then send in the results to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch web site. (The site also has plenty of advice to help you identify different species)
Mick Delap helped organise a similar Spring Nature Census last year, with the ATA Triangle Nature Watch group. That showed that the Triangle’s most common garden visitor was the Great Tit, followed by Blue Tit, Feral (“Trafalgar Square”) Pigeon, and Wood Pigeon. By the beginning of winter the noisy Ring-necked Parakeet had pushed onto the list, plus regulars Robin, Dunnock, Starling, Magpie and Blackbird (Seagulls and Carrion Crows are also seen every day, but overhead, not actually in gardens). Our top ten are:
- Great Tit
- Blue Tit
- Feral Pigeon
- Wood Pigeon
- Ring-necked Parakeet
- Robin
- Dunnock
- Starling
- Magpie
- Blackbird
The Triangle Nature Watch Group are hoping to repeat the Spring Census this year and would love to hear from as many ATA members (and especially younger ATA residents) as possible.
But until then the challenge for this Big Garden Birdwatch weekend is for you to spot all of the Triangle’s Top Ten birds. To record your total, or for more details about Triangle Nature Watch activities, please contact Mick, at mick@delap.plus.com