2025 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

 

 

 

Like many of you, I took part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2025 today. I had hoped for higher numbers, and indeed I saw other birds about, such as a Great tit, but not during the hour in question. 

 

I wonder which birds you saw ...

 

 

Here are some of the garden visitors who showed up during my hour ...

Blackbird

Robin

Blue tit

House sparrow

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2023

 

The first Robin

  

We settled down this morning with binoculars, mugs of coffee, a pen and a recording sheet to do our bird survey. 

It was a reasonable, fairly nondescript, January morning here in suburban Suffolk. Our bird feeder was hung about with fat-filled coconut, peanuts and sunflower hearts. 

As ever, one or two of the 'regulars' failed to put in an appearance, notably the Great spotted woodpecker, Goldfinches and Wren; but never mind.

We spotted twelve species in the hour, which we felt was encouraging but not brilliant. Sadly, we hardly ever see Chaffinches, Bullfinches or Greenfinches in the garden these days.  

These are our results:

1. Blue tit - 8 
2. Woodpigeon - 8 
3. House sparrow - 3 
4. Starling - 3 
5. Blackbird - 2 
6. Dunnock - 2 
7. Great tit - 2 
8. Robin - 2 
9. Long-tailed tit - 1 
10. Magpie - 1

We also saw a Jay (11.) and a Feral Pigeon (12.), though these species do not appear on the RSPB checklist.  

I wonder how your count went. Perhaps you are still hoping to do one. 

Blue tit, Starling, Great tit

Blue tits, head to head

The action!

More Blue tits

Seed-time

 

 

Snow on snow . . .

I have not ventured out beyond my patio door, but here are some of the avian visitors who came to our garden today. I gather there are Redwings and Fieldfare in the vicinity, but I have yet to see any this year. As for the snow, well, it is probably the most we have had since we moved in to our current house about nine years ago!

 

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, 2021

 

A bird watch has to begin somewhere, and mine began with the small but distinctive features of this beautiful Blue tit, almost hidden in a woody patch beneath one of our coconut feeders. The three images below show that other sightings were to follow.

As you can see, I finally succeeded in uploading my Big Garden Birdwatch Results for 2021 on to the RSPB site. There are not really any surprises on my list, although, typically, Long-tailed tits and Wood Pigeons have been around in much greater numbers since my counting hour. 

Ours is a medium-sized suburban garden. It is in close proximity to a Local Nature Reserve. We have a mix of trees, shrubs and the somewhat battered stalks of last year's long grass. Our sandy soil contains a fair amount of old builders' rubble. 

We usually put out fatballs with seeds or mealworms. We replenished our supply of these, adding a new canister of sunflower seeds, which attracted the Goldfinches. 

I wonder what birds you were able to count. Results can be uploaded, I believe, for the next few days (possibly until 19 February, but do check). Here are a few photos of our avian visitors, taken from behind double-glazing ...

 

female Blackbird

Long-tailed tit

Starling

Blue tit

Robin

Feed the Birds

Robin in our home patch, with currant blossom and forythia

In these days of fewer social gatherings, watching the birds and trying to keep abreast of the regulars becomes an increasingly important activity. And with birds pairing and beginning to build nests, there is plenty of action in the avian world. Our coconut feeders, with added sunflower seeds, particularly attract Blue tits, Robins, Great tits, Long-tailed tits and Starlings. Blackbirds have been known to head for them, too, but they prefer food sources like earth worms that can be pulled from the ground. 

Blue tit, one of many in the garden

Frosty morning (and the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch)

 

Apologies for the photo quality, but these were taken through double-glazing. Both Robin and Bluetit were making the most of our coconut feeders this morning.

It may not have been the coldest night of the year, but it was certainly the hardest frost we have had so far. Do spare a thought for the birds, and don't forget to take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch this coming weekend. You can find the details here.

Our ('say no to the mow' wild) garden this morning

P.S. You might be interested in this story about the plan for a wildlife meadow at King's College, Cambridge.

Pecking Order

Some of you will know that we have had builders and decorators in to put right the damage caused by a flood. There has been a fair amount of hanging around which has meant that I have snatched spare in-between moments to keep an eye on the bird feeders. We even a had a brief visit from a Sparrowhawk the other day: these are not my favourite birds to have at close quarters when there are small birds trying to feed in these cold temperatures. Today it has been largely the turn of the Starlings and Long-tailed Tits. 

I might like it to be a case of 'share and share alike', but I can see wisdom (or instinct) in the tiny Long-tailed tit's patient reticence!

Meahwhile on the other coconut, a second Long-tailed tit had the food all to itself. 

We have had a few sleety snow flurries but no lying snow to date. There have been intermittent visits from Blue tits, Great tits and a Robin, too. And no sign today of the Sparrowhawk so far...

Don't forget: this weekend is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. It lasts from 26th to 28th January, and the link explains how you can take part.

RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2017

The photo above shows one of the feisty Robins, and one of the first birds to clock-in to the count.

At this point I would like to point to the RSPB's rationale behind the Bird Count: facts and figures can be fun (or not), but this key annual survey began with a purpose in mind, as you will see if you click this link. You might also find this page helpful, which mentions the conservation status that can be assessed for individual species when numbers are known and charted.

I did the bird survey between noon and 13.00 hours this morning, about an hour later than a year ago and I sense the later time produced fewer results. My hunch is that the birds in our Suffolk garden are active early in the morning and shortly before dusk.

So who failed to show up? Well, the Wren, the Starlings, most of the Magpies, the Jay, the Great spotted Woodpecker (who has not been around often of late) - and a fine male Bullfinch who was here yesterday.

Sadly the Greenfinches who were around when we moved in four years ago are rarely seen. The lone Redwing was here a few days ago.

As for the survey section on 'other wildlife', I was able to to say that I have seen stag beetles, foxes, hedgehogs and a stoat 'less than monthly' in the last year here in the garden. There was not a box for the Grey Squirrel who comes to the berry-and-fat feeder most days.

I wonder how your surveying went - or will go if you have yet to take part before the end of this weekend. My results have been submitted to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch site.

I see I got seven this year out of the top ten birds on last year's list.

These are a few of the other birds who put in an appearance today...

Female Blackbird

Blue tit

Great tit

Long-tailed tit

And here is the one who got away (by showing up a day early)...

male Bullfinch

• BBC predictions
• ITV coverage
• Fact: over 519,000 people took part last year - will you be part of the 2017 flock?

March comes in with a lion, feeling more like winter than spring

Winter and spring compete for the upper hand ...

... while the male Great Spotted Woodpecker and the tiny Blue bit share and share alike.

But will March go out like a lamb?