Belfast, Birdwatch and boxes for birds!

It's been a busy time this past month in the wildlife enquiries team, Rich and I went over to see our colleagues in the Belfast office last week to deliver some wildlife based training. Great place to go to and great to meet the team over there, they were really helpful and good fun, plus the setting in Belvoir forest park is a really nice place to work! No red squirrels sighted but the starling roost under a bridge over the Lagan on the way was mighty impressive and we spotted a hooded crow and bullfinch in the forest park!

Back in the office it's all systems go for the Big Garden Birdwatch, we're sending out forms left right and centre and helping as many people as we can with their survey queries. The top three questions seem to be;

1. I'm not seeing any birds at the moment as it's so mild, should I bother? Definitely yes, we need to get an accurate representation of what birds are doing so even if there is not as much activity out there as you would hope for, please still do the survey and let us know the results, even if you don't see any birds we still want to know. If we get a cold snap at the weekend which is forecast it may well force some birds into gardens to grab some extra food so make sure they have access to food and water! 
2. Do I count birds flying over? Generally no, the birds we want recorded are those making use of the garden and the trees, hedges, bird baths, lawns and feeders within it. Birds drifting over the garden at height are not using the garden so we don't need them included. However, if you had a bird of prey swooping down into the garden and chasing other birds using the garden, they can be included.
3. Why only an hour, all our regular birds might not turn up at that time? The survey has always been an hour long and has been held for over thirty years. This gives us comparable data so we need it to stay an hour. By watching for a whole hour at a time when garden birds are actively feeding (early morning or mid afternoon are good times), you maximise your chances of seeing the majority of your garden regulars and maybe some that usually slip under the radar. If a garden favourite doesn't turn up, don't worry, due to the huge size of the survey, some people will gain birds whilst others lose them, it should balance out when the trends are analysed.

Have a look at the Big Garden Birdwatch page here if you want to pre-register or find out more. Good luck if you take part!

In between BGBW queries we have been having lots of enquiries regarding nesting boxes with many people asking about making, siting and buying the right type of boxes. Here are a few links to help you on your way to providing birds withs the best accomodation for the coming breeding season.

RSPB nestbox shop

RSPB nestbox advice

BTO nestbox guide