RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

This years RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch has been a very different affair to the excitement and drama of last year's count when I unexpectedly added a local urban fox (Vulpes vulpes) to my garden mammal list.

It seems a bit colder this year with a frost on the ground and I had to break the ice on the water dish on the bird table when I topped up the bird-seed at 08:00. A crisp clear blue January sky, without a cloud in sight.

As with last year I started the watch at 08:15. The garden was devoid of birds and even with the bedroom window wide open, I could not hear any target species in the local vicinity.

I started scanning the roof tops for the "additional sightings" list instantly adding 4 wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) and a couple of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus), a herring gull (Larus argentatus) flew past.

A little way in to the survey a ♂ blackbird (Turdus merula) caught my attention flying between gardens several house down. A small movement of carrion crow (Corvus corone corone) 2,1,1, and a single magpie (Pica pica) were added to the "additional sightings" list.

A pied wagtail (Motacilla alba) flew over unseen its "chiswick chiswick" call unmistakeable.

Herring gull and black-headed gull continued to fly over as well as well as a couple of feral pigeon (Columba livia). The wood pigeon constantly on the move between roof-tops and TV arials. But nothing landing in the garden to add to garden birdwatch list. I was getting bored.

At 08:40 a peripheral movement caught my eye and turning I noted a ♀ blackbird entering my neighbours garden - which in keeping with last years count, I eagerly added to the garden bird watch list. The ♀ stayed in the garden feeding mainly on the ground. Shortly afterwards a ♂ blackbird flew low over both gardens but failed to land.

At 09:02 five wood pigeons landed on the shed roof in my other next door neighbour's garden, as they were feeding on the seed and meal worms I had laced the roof with at 08:00 - I felt more than justified adding them to my garden bird list.

A minute later and the wood pigeons and ♀ blackbird flushed when a local moggy (Felis domesticus) appeared on a nearby garden wall.

My garden bird watch was over 13 minutes early the cat continuing on into my neighbours garden and up onto the shed roof where it stayed in situ until 09:20.

For a retrospective look at last years RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch list goto: http://part-timenaturalist.blogspot.com/2010/01/rspb-big-garden-birdwatch-sunday-31st.html

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

With the home garden "seeded" in the morning with RSPB seed mix scattered on the frosted ground, and a bowl of mix in place in a large overturned planter. The water bowl had been frozen overnight so thawed and topped up with a little luke warm water. Our neighbour has just erected a new bird table this week and laid out seed and kitchen scraps. Between us we seem to be keeping a fairly small but stable population of birds fed within the local vicinity.

For the purpose of the count I had agreed with my neighbour to count the bird activity in both gardens and submit the combined size and structural details to the register (approx size 1/2 tennis court, with both evergreen and deciduous shrubs, flowerbeds, lawn and "wildlife space"). The bird count was undertaken from 08:15 - 09:15.

The usual suspects appeared over the hour: singles of woodpigeon Columba palumbus, dunnock Prunella modularis, robin Erithacus Rubecula and songthrush Turdus philomelos; 3 blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus. 7 individually identifiable blackbird Turdus Merula consisting of  4 ♀♀ and 3 ♂♂ were also present over the hour the highest number together at any time being 5 for the purpose of the count.

Birds seen but not included in the count as they were "flyovers" or on adjacent rooftops: carrion crow Corvus corone; collared dove Streptopelia dacaocto; a single stock dove Columba oenas! feral pigeon Columba livia; bh gull Larus ridibundus and herring gull Larus argentatus. Another individually identifiable ♂ blackbird was also in the local area. A great tit Parus major and a probable second songthrush were also noted in a near distant tree.

5 house sparrows Passer domesticus were adjacent on their usual colony rooftops although unable to be included in the official count, they did grace the gardens some 45 minutes after the count closed.

An unexpected visitor to both gardens which momentarily flushed the birds half way through the count period was an urban fox Vulpes vulpes which then more surprisingly turned up 20 -25 ft high up settling on a rooftop amongst the overgrown ivy.

Across the rooftops towards the ivy fox hole

Vulpes vulpes