On a day when you are at home most of the day, what are your peaks and troughs as regards numbers of birds in your garden. Also, when do your birds go to bed at the moment?
I'm not an earlier riser, no need to be as I am retired and prefer late nights to early mornings. Anyway, I have no idea what time I get an early morning peak, but I certainly have a peak between 11am and 1-30pm. (This is when I'm going to do my bird count.)
There is a lull during the afternoon, then another flurry at the moment about 3-30pm. They seem to be in bed by 4-15, although it isn't fully dark at that time here, and there maybe an odd starling on his look out post, but nothing else.
Cheers, Linda.
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This thread certainly has made for interesting reading!
My birds are very similar to yours, Sparrow. I too am not a morning person because I work till 11pm tuesdays and wednesdays so I'm never usually up and about until 9-ish.
When I was working mornings and was up at 4:30am (vile!) I noticed one of the first visitors to the garden was the Magpie, who'd always come around 5am for his monkey nuts (which he was hiding in all the neighbour's guttering, LOL!).
The blackbirds are the first (or one of) I've noticed and I've seen them here while its still dark, the Robin is usually the other early riser.
Although the House Sparrows start their chatter from 7-7:30am they don't appear in the garden until after 8. Think they're the lazy ones out the bunch!
The Woodpigeons and Collared Doves appear anytime between 7:30 and 8:30.
The one I've never been able to work out a time to is the Sparrowhawk, I know its part of her hunting technique but she's very random and the earliest I've ever seen her is 9:30am.
I do like to be up early every now and again just so I can watch the garden come to life, its a nice feeling watching everything :o)
As I mentioned earlier, I have no idea who comes first. (I had to get up at 8 the other morning, but still had my eyes closed until I left the house!)
The goldfinches leave first, about 2pm after being with me from about 10-30am. I never see them after about 2. They must have another garden somewhere. The last to leave are the robins - after what I would call dark, although I can just about see them on the feeders, probably 4-30ish.
Unknown said: The one I've never been able to work out a time to is the Sparrowhawk, I know its part of her hunting technique but she's very random and the earliest I've ever seen her is 9:30am.
Paul - how often does your sparrowhawk visit?
I forgot about the evenings, sorry! The sparrows retire at the moment around 4pm, but carry on chattering away in the trees, the blackbirds are about until it goes dark and cary on singing and hat I call screaming until around 6pm.
Sparrow, the Sparrowhawk has been very regular since the snow, the one one week of snow she was here 3 days that I saw her, then I saw her once a week after that. If I was here a bit more I would have known. But judging by the eery silence that came about a lot, she was never far away!