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Monday, 19 March 2007

Big Garden Bird Watch 2007

Well I did my watch on Saturday 27th January and what a wonderfully sunny day it was too. I had 14 species of bird although I won't bore you with the complete list and the exercise reminded me that to take an hour out to watch one's own garden can be very rewarding indeed, even if like my own it is postage stamp size! There were no great surprises in the way of rare visitors, but it was good to watch the antics of a pairs of Wrens, Dunnocks and Blue Tits. I am still awaiting the first visit this winter of Bullfinch and Siskin. Surprisingly I had no Greenfinches although I have seen a number of large flocks in the area so I guess they are doing ok, even though they have been hit severely by disease in some areas. The Song Thrush that has been singing nearby since before Christmas, failed to make an appearance, and Starling numbers were right down. I remember only recently when Starlings visited each day in large numbers and a few years back when Song Thrushes were daily visitors. Alas, no longer.
The top of the bill was not a bird at all, but the appearance of the Hedgehog which appears to hibernate at the top of the garden. It was such a pleasant day I suppose it is not surprising it awoke, but I hope it managed to settle down again without problem. It seems we may be on our way to the warmest January on record. This is certainly playing havoc with nature with signs of spring flowers in December, clutches of Blackbirds having been reported in the Newcastle area in early January, and what appears to have been a late arrival of large numbers of winter thrushes and Waxwings.
I hope all members enjoyed their watch. Remember I shall be asking members about any unusual winter visitors to gardens at our indoor meeting on 13th March. I understand results of this year BGBW will appear on the RSPB website at the end of March and no doubt in the Birds magazine. It will be interesting to see whether or not the RSPB managed to reach their aim of a record number of reports. Newcastle group has certainly done its best to help!
Brian Moorhead