RSPB Garden Bird Watch Reminder

[Seahorse]

Well we scored bigtime! My eldest (ten) asked if we could do our watch on the lottie, which has water on two sides... we only went and saw a KINGFISHER for the very first time ever!!! Had a pretty good tally of other birdies too

[smallblueplanet]

That is very cool indeed, Kingfishers are fabulous to watch (good spot). Have you treated them to binoculars and a birdie guide?

We had a green woodpecker on the lawn late this afternoon.

[srodders]

Typical, an hour after I'd put my results in I had a look out the back and the garden was the fullest it's been all week-end.

[Seahorse]

That is very cool indeed, Kingfishers are fabulous to watch (good spot). Have you treated them to binoculars and a birdie guide?

We had a green woodpecker on the lawn late this afternoon.

I don't think I've ever seen a green woodpecker in real life! DD1 is quite a keen ornithologist, she's a member of the RSPB and has lots of books on the subject. We had binoculars until they had an unfortunate encounter with DS1 (he's not naughty exactly but being autistic he sometimes doesn't quite realise the consequences of his actions!). I think we must get some more now!

[smallblueplanet]

Lidl/Aldi sometimes have branded binoculars in store, otherwise secondhand ones can be a decent price. The difference in what you see is amazing, you can tell when people have looked at birds thru bins or not.

I've just splashed out on a pair from the US - I hope I don't have too pay too much on duty & tax (I know what it should be, but I've never had to pay before). No wonder I can't afford any more seeds!

I love the sound green woodpeckers make, particularly this time of year, they sound like they're 'laughing'. So maybe you've heard one but not seen them?

[Seahorse]

I shall keep an eye on Lidl. I never shopped there until I realised they had fruit trees and bushes but go quite often now!

I wonder if I have heard a woodpecker? One of the things I noticed most today was that we could often hear different calls but couldn't always see the birds making them!

[seasprout]

I love the sound green woodpeckers make, particularly this time of year, they sound like they're 'laughing'. So maybe you've heard one but not seen them?

We sometimes get green wood peckers where i work. They sound like Mr Cadburys Chocolate parrot.. deranged more so.

[Headfry]

I always think the woodpecker sounds like the english version of a (no idea how to spell it) cook-a-borough! yes - they sound like they are laughing. I love the crazy woodpeckers.
Though since having the girls (bees) I panic a little/lot if the woodpecker song is coming from their direction....once woody-pecky has found the hive and its sweet contents, they will 'break' in and steal my girls winters stores and eat the girlies too- they just drill a hole in the wooden hive. Whats more once they know where to find this lovely food they won't leave it alone. Wire cage....lots and lots of wire...make it razor wire and spot lights please! ;-)

[smallblueplanet]

I didn't realise woodpeckers ate b**s HF I've always been happy watching them eat our ants.

[Flummery]

Don't they call it the yaffle? Sort of describes the mad laugh to a T.

[Nicos]

This is the e-mail we got today from the RSPB .....


A really big THANK YOU for taking part in this year's Big Garden Birdwatch.

What an extraordinary event this has become. Over the weekend of 26-27 January, almost 400,000 people counted more than six million birds across 228,000 gardens.

This really shows how much people like you care about the natural world around you.

So, what have you found out?
For the first time in the survey's 29-year history, the beautiful yellow and green siskin has made it into the top 20, being seen in three times as many gardens as last year.

Numbers of redpolls seen in gardens have skyrocketed too. This is probably due to supply of food; both birds feed on conifers and deciduous seeds, so the figures suggest that tree seed supplies have been poor this year and that they've been forced into gardens to find food.

As predicted, the colourful goldfinch made it in to the top 10 for the first time, with a third more birds recorded than in 2004.

Big Garden Birdwatch participants also noted an increase in song thrushes, with numbers up by 80 per cent compared to last year. This is probably thanks to last year's warm, wet summer, which made it easier for them to find snails, slugs and earthworms to feed their young. However, as song thrush numbers have decreased by almost two thirds over the past 30 years we know that there is a long way to go before the declines of the past are reversed.

The top three: The house sparrow retained its top spot even though its numbers have decreased by almost two thirds since 1979. The starling remained in second place despite its numbers falling by three quarters over the same period, and the blackbird completed the top three.

Overall, the Big Garden Birdwatch results show the average number of birds seen in each garden this year has declined by a fifth since 2004.

By taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch, you've already shown your commitment to protecting birds and wildlife for future generations. If, like us, you want to do more to help look after the amazing world we are lucky enough to live in why not join the RSPB.

We're a million people who care about nature and the planet we live on. The RSPB is the largest wildlife conservation charity in the UK and the more people who join us - the more effective we can be.

It's a wonderful world out there, you can help us keep it that way. Join a million voices for nature.

Yours sincerely,



Sarah Kelly



Thought those of you who didn't manage to join in might be interested!

[jacob marley]

The main reason that the bird count was down in 07 and 08 was that the weather warmed up and the birds went elsewhere well mine did any way that would alter things a bit jacob