My Big Garden Birdwatch turnout is never particularly remarkable, but I certainly broke a record this year. I was prepared, having customised my Town & Country Garden birdwatching logbook for the event, and had decided on Sunday afternoon as my chosen hour. I realise this is quite late, sort of doing my homework on the bus vibes, but I know that birds tend to be out and about looking for food before the night draws in, and I was hopeful that from my vantage point above the front garden, I would be able to spot the birds in the tree outside my window as well as those footling around in the undergrowth by the boundary fence and hedge.
The birds we see most at our property are lots of tits (Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal), Collared Doves, Jackdaws, Herring Gulls, Wood Pigeons, Robin, Wren, House Sparrows, Blackbirds, Starlings, Goldfinches and Magpies. All the usual suspects in other words. We do have a feeder in the back garden, and a window-mounted double-sided feeder in the front. We also have a wealth of seedheads and undisturbed borders, as well as lots of worms in the lawn.
I had my cup of tea, some toast, my binoculars and my logbook and pencil. I put my timer on for one hour. The stage was set.
Bring on the birds
I sat quietly and watched out for signs of avian activity. I could hear a Collared Dove but it wasn’t in the garden or on the roof. I heard a Robin too, but couldn’t see it in the garden. A couple of dog-walkers went by. A couple more. One of the neighbours brought out her bin to the pavement in front of our house. I noticed some movement in next-door’s garden: a cat.
I was also watching the large gravel driveway opposite, and our attached neighbour’s garden, and there were no birds to be seen, apart from a squadron of Jackdaws making their way to the large trees in the fields for the night. I waited some more. More dog-walkers. Perhaps my mid-afternoon timing was a poor choice as I saw not a single bird in the whole hour. Not just absent from my garden, but from the surroundings as well. Literally nothing landed between 3.20 and 4.20 on Sunday afternoon.
Sadly I can’t tick off any of these…
Did you take part? How did you get on?
