WATCH THE BIRDIES!
YOU CAN TAKE PART IN THE RSPB’S ANNUAL CENSUS THIS WEEKEND
THIS weekend is the Big Garden Birdwatch, in which the RSPB charity is hoping to enlist tens of thousands of us to do an annual census of our feathered friends.
Today and tomorrow, we are all being asked to spend an hour counting the birds we see in our gardens or from our balconies, and then telling the RSPB what we see.
The charity says that anyone can take part, at any time of day, so it doesn’t matter whether you’re an early bird or a night owl.
Due to coronavirus, the advice is to take part in the safety of your own home. This could include a birdwatch from your window if you overlook a green space or courtyard.
Count the birds you see in your garden, but gnore any birds that are still in flight. To avoid double-counting, just record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time – not a running total.
Martin Fowlie, RSPB spokesman, said: “Every count is important so, if you don’t see anything, please still submit your result. Finding out which birds don’t visit your area is as important as understanding those which do.
“I hope that because of lockdown, taking part will be something that people feel they have time to do.
“People have really reconnected with wildlife and what’s in their gardens and their green spaces in the past year, and as lockdown progresses it will become more important.”
As well as the more common sparrows, robins, goldfinches, starlings and tits, Martin says you might also see these less well-known species…
1: HAWFINCH
“This is the one every birdwatcher wants to see in their garden. It’s our biggest finch, almost the size of a starling, with a huge, powerful bill that can crack cherry seeds, has a black mask around the eyes and the chin, and a peachy-orange marking around the rest of its head. Males have amazing deep purple feathers on their wing tips,” says Martin.
“In the winter they can turn up anywhere and a couple of years ago some people spotted them on their bird tables. They are shy but they can appear in urban areas where there is food. They are seed feeders, so sunflower seeds and peanuts on a table may attract them.”
2: FIELDFARE
“These are thrushes – from the same family as blackbirds and song thrushes – and arrive in their thousands in the autumn from Scandinavia, to feed on all the berries in our hedgerows, parks and gardens through winter.
“You tend to find them more in the countryside, in groups feeding on berries in hawthorn hedges, but when the weather’s really cold or food has been depleted, you sometimes see them moving into large gardens for leftover fallen apples or other dropped fruit.
“They go around in groups of 10-20.”
3: BRAMBLING
“A close relative of the chaffinch, brambling can turn up anywhere at this time of year on feeders in gardens.
“They are very distinctive, with a flush of peachy-orange winter plumage across their chest and shoulders, and black and white markings on the wing and back.”
4: WAXWING
“These are beautiful and are more likely to turn up in urban and suburban areas than rural areas, partly because they like winter berries and particularly cotoneaster.
“Plants you normally find in business parks or around shopping centres are ideal, such as rowan or hawthorn. I see a lot in cotoneaster bushes around supermarkets. When they are feeding you can get really close to them, just five or six metres away. They have this crest, little mask and tips to their wings. They look amazing.”
5: BLACKCAP
“These shy birds have increased in numbers over the years and you may well find them in urban gardens. They are a type of warbler. The males are gold-browny-grey birds with a dapper little black top to their head, while females have a red cap.
“They are normally summer migrants, migrating to Spain and North Africa in the winter, but in the last few decades an increasing number spend the winter here, landing in suburban and urban gardens, feeding on food that people have put out. They will eat a mix of dried mealworms or fruit left out on tables. and bits of fat balls. They are starting to adapt to garden foods. And you usually only see them singly.”
6: REDPOLL
“These small finches have been appearing in reasonable numbers this year. They have tiny bills, have a pale front with brown streaking and a little red forehead. Some have a pink-red marking on their chin. They again come from northern Europe for the winter and are a seedfeeder, so you do see them on people’s feeders.
“If you have a tree like a silver birch with catkins still on, or other trees with seeds, you quite often see them feeding on those in groups.”
7: CHIFFCHAFF
“This is another warbler, like the blackcap, which usually goes to southern Spain and sub-saharan Africa during our winter, but with our warmer, wetter winters, some of them are staying over and are nesting here.
“They have a very distinctive, onomatopoeic call, which is how they get their ‘chiff’ ‘chaff’ name.
“They nest on the ground, often in parks, rural areas and edges of woodland.”