Voting closed - vote for the species you most want to see during the BGBW

I voted for brambling - for the first time ever I had a couple visit my garden this weekend, and again on Tuesday - I think it would be fitting if at least one of them turned up for my BGBW :)

Hi Ian

Voted for Blackcap!

Blackcap would be my dream bird - had a male Blackcap in our former garden a couple of years ago - eating Snowberries.

Dave is getting a Female Blackcap, along with Long Tail Tits on his workplace feeders at the moment, and he is really pleased about it. The Long Tail Tits are going mad for Kipling cakes at the moment

Hopefully he will get a photo or two next next week when he takes our Canon camera and I will post on this Forum.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

I've gone for Waxwing, because if I don't see one this year when they're here in their thousands then I probably never will.

I must admit I had no idea we even had a winter population of Blackcaps until I saw this.  How many spend the winter here?

Like Uboat I went for Waxwing and for much the same reason.  There have been many sightings in Sussex, alas I haven't seen one and probably won't if I don't see one this winter.

On the subject of Blackcaps - we have a town centre garden and for the first time (well, so far as I am aware) we have a regular female Blackcap visitor, feeding on fatballs.  She was seen for long periods last Saturday and Sunday so hopefully she will be back on 29th/30th!

I certainly do not want a sparrowhawk - all my other birds would disappear and I would have a lousy result in my count! My resident sparrowhawk pair do visit regularly.

My hope is for my flock of 20 or so redpolls to still be here that weekend - but they aren't on your list. Currently they are swarming all over my feeders, and giving me an enormous amount of pleasure.

I have voted for bullfinch. It would be great to have another finch variety to add to my existing ones, and I have never seen one in my garden.

Ian H said:

As you can see from last years results, the top ten Big Garden Birdwatch birds are all well known and regular visitors to many gardens around the UK and provide all of us with hours of entertainment as they go about their daily lives alongside our own.

However, what we want to find out with this poll is which species is likely to make you jump out of your chair, spill your tea and drop your digestive biscuits with excitement! We have narrowed the list down to ten birds, which proved very difficult, that are seen regularly but are just a little bit out of the ordinary for various reasons. All you need to do is to pick the one that would give you the most pleasant of surprises if it arrives during the birdwatch hour.

If you can think of a species that we have missed from the list (those lucky enough to have red kites living locally should have something to say!) please tell us about it and why it should be included.

Happy voting!

[Please visit the original post to access the poll]

I would love to see my Goldcrest back, have had one previous 2 winters, but not seen it this year!

I would love to see Fieldfares, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Buzzard, Heron, Brambling, Jay, Blackcap or Redpoll because they have all visited my garden ( some quite regularly but some only once ).

I have never seen a waxwing and would obviously love to see one in the garden. In the end I voted for bullfinch because I have had a pair visit briefly once or twice and also a juvenile. They are beautiful birds and I would like to see them again.

PS I can guarantee I will be recording about 50 chaffinches LOL

I voted Nuthatch - although a Waxwing and Goldfinch would also make me v excited indeed!!

I've gone for Long Tailed Tit. Last Autumn there was a sudden flurry in my garden and a little flock of long tailed tits were noisily flitting from bush to bush. It was the first time I'd ever seen any and it felt unreal, magical and like a dream. I was a very happy bunny.

I am voting for nuthatch, because it is a beatiful bird, and as yet I have not managed to attract one to my garden