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David White

The bird feeders behind the visitor centre have been really busy recently. Instead of staring at my computer like I usually do, I spent my lunch break watching the feeders. In around 20 minutes, I saw the following:

Goldfinch: 6

Blue tit: 5

Reed bunting: 4

Great tit: 2

Greenfinch: 2

Robin: 1

Chaffinch: 1

Now, that isn't too bad at all if I may say so myself!

I should really make the effort to do this more often as I am not lucky enough to have my own garden. However, one of the great things about the Big Garden Birdwatch that is coming up this weekend is that you don't necessarily need to have a garden to take part. You can do it in any area of green space near you. Therefore, if you visit the reserve on Saturday, you may well find me doing "my hour". I will be watching the feeders and taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. 

I am pleased to say that isn't the only thing that is going on here this weekend! We have our annual Big Garden Birdwatch event on Saturday. Weather permitting; this event will include a bird ringing demonstration by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO). This will provide a special opportunity to see some of our familiar garden birds (and perhaps some less familiar "garden" birds!) up close and personal.  There will also be a trail around the Brandon Fen family trail which will give you a chance to learn the definitions of the scientific names of some of our garden birds. Trust me, some of them are fascinating!

If neither of the above activities are your "cup of tea", then as there are so many birds using the feeders both in front and behind the visitor centre, there are plenty of opportunities for photography.  A lot of visitors have been trying to get action shots of birds on and around the feeders. Here are some of Dave's efforts from Saturday:

An incoming chaffinch:

A reed bunting trying to walk on water:

Image credits: Dave Rogers

That just leaves me to say that however and wherever you take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, enjoy it! We hope you see plenty of species and if you are planning to come along to our event on Saturday, we look forward to seeing you there!