Hi all!
I can't believe another year has gone by! This is my second BGBW - Does anyone know if there is some way of accessing my results from last year so I can compare them? Wish I'd kept a note of it!
I think my results this year are probably similar in terms of the different species I saw, but I think some of the numbers may be higher this year - simply because I was better prepared and the birds have had a whole year to get used to finding the food I put out in my garden! I saw:
20 Starlings
11 House Sparrows
2 Blackbirds (Mr and Mrs)
1 Robin
1 Bluetit
1 Carrion Crow
No real surprises. We have flocks of starlings living around the neighbourhood (I live on the edge of town, beside open farmland) and the most I've seen in the garden is about 40 at any one time! We also have a healthy population of house sparrows that spend all day hiding in the 10-foot tall hedges that separate our cul-de-sac from the fields. No sign of any great tits though - we sometimes get one or two visiting. We also had gold finches but I haven't seen any since autumn, and even the pigeons and collared doves stayed away. I'd also hoped to see a few more blue tits and blackbirds. I had mostly starlings and sparrows in the first 15 mins of the watch, then absolutely nothing for half-an-hour, so I was very pleased when the blackbirds and robin put in an appearance with about 10 minutes to go!