It’s a big weekend this one. Whilst I may be heading to London on Saturday, hoping for some magic in the cup, you might be looking out of your window, hoping for some magic on your bird table.
It’s F.A. Cup fourth round weekend, but I’m sure there is something even bigger going on this weekend? Ah, Big Garden Birdwatch! How could I forget? It’s huge, massive. Did you ever think that you would take part in the world’s biggest wildlife survey?
Whilst there are some people like Katie who’ve had a cunning plan and set up extra food for weeks, my plan is much more simple. It involves: looking out of my window at the single (well stocked) feeder in the tree opposite. Even garden is a bit of a stretch for the few paces of concrete outside. Hopefully, I’ll see a sparrow or two, a chaffinch and if I’m lucky a collared dove or woodpigeon.
But that doesn’t matter! Katie will probably see more birds, but the Big Garden Birdwatch isn’t about that for me. It’s about spending some quality time looking at the birds on my feeder and appreciating nature. How often do you actually stop and look at what’s going on for anything longer than a minute of two?
I’ll be watching on Sunday, with a bacon sarnie, probably dreaming about what might, just might, have been. The Big Garden Birdwatch is so simple, who ever thought of doing a wildlife survey whilst eating a bacon sarnie! Genius!
It's great fun, get the whole family involved. Cook a fry up, have a pot of tea ready, and see what birds appear. That's magic!
That’s the beauty of nature; there will always be some magic going on in your garden, on your feeder. But in the cup? Well, who knows? Nature can be like the cup though, sometimes turning up the unexpected. So let's see what turns up over this weekend. It’s a funny old game!
For more on our science, check out the RSPB Centre for Conservation Science web pages.
Well, I'm still dreaming about what might have been! The cup didn't provide the magic, so did my birdwatch?
The final score was: 5 sparrows, 4 chaffinches, 2 greenfinches and a blue tit. And there was no injury time surprise, not like the couple in Dorset who saw a raccoon turn up! See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7849012.stm
Kevin, don't forget, it's a marathon not a sprint. A game of two halves. Play to the whistle. Your brunch-centric formation make's sense. Katie's been in training for weeks, so you've got no choice but to just go out there and enjoy the game. You never know, an injury-time Arctic tern could surprise the form team.
I'll look out for you on nuthatch of the day...