Missing birds

Hi,

You can mention red kites, we have at least 8 circle round by us all day as we are right next to a load of fields.  We are very fortunate and get a huge number of common and rarer birds. After you have entered the common birds you can say yes to enter rarer ones then there is a page with woodpeckers, pheasants, red kites, buzzards etc on it. And a free form to enter even rarer birds.

:o)

We also had at least 4 Red Kites circling overhead, but we haven't counted them because they haven't landed in our garden. Can anyone confirm that is right?

Is there a way of counting birds like Kites that only drop for their particular food. Although I know people in the vicinity put out chicken pieces for them, I'm not quite sure about this practice but, as the guidance curently stands, it would be the only way of counting them.

Judy R said:

We also had at least 4 Red Kites circling overhead, but we haven't counted them because they haven't landed in our garden. Can anyone confirm that is right?

Is there a way of counting birds like Kites that only drop for their particular food. Although I know people in the vicinity put out chicken pieces for them, I'm not quite sure about this practice but, as the guidance curently stands, it would be the only way of counting them.

I do remember reading in a previous year that we should not include birds that fly over without landing. That discounts all of the gulls we get aound here! It also would discount the red kites due to their habit of not landing to eat. Wonderful birds by the way, I'm very envious.

I'm a bit puzzled by why the lists are set up as they are. Surely it would be useful to capture information on all sightings, not just those on either the "common" or "less common" list. For example, I was tickled by the last minute appearance of a firecrest today, a first confirmed sighting for me at home. However, firecrests do not appear in the lists and I have no idea why. It's extremely disappointing to spot something a little less ordinary, only to find out it's not even going to be included in the survey.

I

Unknown said:

Wouldn't it be useful to any survey if we had somewhere on the form or on line to mention the species that are seen regularly in the garden but did not appear during the watch time.

Well I know what you mean. I did a brief bit of observation on the Saturday but today when I did my hour I saw a different set of birds.

However I imagine it's done the way it is for accuracy's sake. If you added regular visitors for some people that might this week, others this month and others might include species from the whole year. Many people may not observe much at all. Done the way it is allows maximum participation even for people who don't usually watch at all. I'd guess that part of the motivation for the Bird Watch is to get more people involved in watching birds, caring about birds and raising awareness of declines.

If you want to participate more regularly there is the BTO ongoing survey (Birdtrack) where you can submit results as often as you like and you can do an hour or longer or just submit casual results, like if you see one new species in your garden.