I’ll be staring out the window for an hour.
January 29-31 is Big Garden Birdwatch weekend – the biggest bird survey in the world! The RSPB is enlisting all of us to help get a snapshot of how UK birdlife is faring. It should be particularly interesting after the cold snap.
Winter colour - brilliant bluetit would be a very welcome visitor.
In my last blog, I talked about how the big freeze attracted visitors from further north, but it also has been very hard on native birds – so the Birdwatch will provide a fuller story.
Last year’s Big Garden Birdwatch was record-breaking – half a million people across the UK and unprecedented numbers here in Northern Ireland. The most commonly sighted birds in these parts were the small hedgerow species such as the tit family, house sparrows, finches and starlings. Will it be the same this year?
Will you be flying in for nibbles at my place this year? On my invite list: the chaffinch
All you have to do is spend an hour over the weekend watching the birds that visit your patch, note how many of each type and let the RSPB know. Here on the RSPB website you’ll find loads of information, forms you can download and print off picturing all the species most commonly found in gardens, plus information on how to submit your results online.
Or pick up a leaflet at garden centres, the RSPB while you’re in Belvoir Park or the Lock Keepers Cottage if you are along the towpath.
Long on tail - and adorableness too! The long tailed tit.
To be sure you get lots of winged visitors on the day... put out feeders and bird food now!
And who sez you have to have a garden to take part? Patios, balconies, urban and rural settings, your workplace if it has some outdoor spaces....all can be good places for birdspotting.
Or why not head down to the Lagan for a stroll and a look around – form at the ready. The Park is holding a Winter Wonderland Walk at 11am on the 30th - the ideal opportunity, but booking is essential. Call 9049 1922.
Please be my guest for the Big Garden Bird Watch. Coal Tit
Information on the best food for birds, and also events taking place in the run-up to and during Big Garden Bird Watch, is all here on the RSPB website. Already some schools have gotten in on the act over the past week, so ask your kids.
One last thing – if you do plan to spy on the birds in your garden, best to stay indoors so you don’t scare them off. The same goes for the family cat!
Photos: Anything but common or garden, these birds are among the top species sighted in last year's survey. Images provided by the RSPB and Lagan Valley Regional Park.
What a rollercoaster ride! Since my last blog it's been very busy along the Lagan. (Apologies for such a long gap, but snow, ice, weather-related fender benders and winter doldrums clipped my wings a bit!)
Usually the bleak midwinter is a quiet time, especially for birds, but not this year. Not only have we finally emerged from the longest cold snap in decades, but the Park was snowed under with visitors - winged and otherwise.
Remember this?
The icy Siberian air sent birds such as redwings, fieldfares and waxwings in great numbers to the British Isles, escaping even colder weather back in Scandinavia. Usually our winters are too mild for these species, but the below-zero temperatures made them feel right at home.
Redwings have been spotted at Lockview in Stranmillis. These, and the fieldfare, resemble their cousin the mistle thrush, but there are differences. The redwing is the UK's smallest true thrush, identified by a creamy strip above the eye and persimmon side patches. To see and hear, go to: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/r/redwing/index.aspx
In contrast, the fieldfare is a large, colourful thrush and very social, travelling in great flocks from a dozen up to 200 strong. If they see good pickings, a hundred fieldfares will descend and munch away until every last juicy morsel is gone. Not unlike locusts....or the recent flocks of journalists circling the Lock Keepers Cottage. http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/fieldfare/index.aspx
Don't be fooled by the waxwing's flamoyant plumage or natty crest. This small, plump bird is actually quite shy. But as seen here, they bring a welcome flash of brightness. http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/waxwing/index.aspx
Handsome Scandanavian visitors - waxwings @ Lockview
There have been other visitors too. Such as an invasion of sea life. Usually cormorants are occasional visitors, but this year many have made their way upriver. Also every winter one or two seals venture up the Lagan from Belfast Lough and this year is no exception. Could better fish stocks be the reason?
Cormorant flaunts his wingspan
Salmon are back in the Lagan and spawning. It look place later this season because the wet autumn brought high water levels, making getting upstream and spawning too tricky. But as conditions turned colder and dryer last month, the water subsided and the salmon came. Followed by the seal.
More salmon also mean more fry for kingfishers - a glimmer of good news for birds which don't cope well with the cold. They struggle to fish as their preferred slow-moving quieter spots along the river are always first to ice over. Frozen stretches near Lisburn also left a couple of confused swans high and dry.
Winter wonderland - unless you're a kingfisher
Small hedgerow birds found the going tough too. Worms couldn't break through the rock-hard ground. Berries and seeds are starting to be in short supply. If it weren't for the ivy providing vital shelter and fruit, many birds would not have survived. As it's only January, there's still plenty of winter to come. So please keep feeding the birds in your garden. You may even see a few redwings among them.
The extreme cold has not been all bad news. (Though anyone with burst pipes might disagree) After so many mild winters, a blast of cold restores nature's cycles. But I'm much happier basking in the current spring-like balminess and seeing the crocus shoots coming up. Nature's way of restoring our spirits?
Photos provided by Lagan Valley Regional Park