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panbiker
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 Posted -
05/01/2008
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15:36
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This is an annual event to help identify bird populations across the country. This years RSPB national bird watch weekend is on 26/27th January 2008. All you have to do is select a 1 hour period at sometime over that weekend and observe the numbers and species of birds visiting your garden. An online form will then be available to report your sightings. Over 400,000 people took part last year. If you do not have a garden you can do the suvey at a local park or other recreation area. You can download a tally sheet, with bird identification pictures from the RSPB website shown below. I have added this to the OG Calendar. Have a go and help the RSPB to identify species that may be at risk. We have done this for a few years now and it's quite a lot of fun. What's in your garden?
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/index.asp
Ian
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moh
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Posted - 05/01/2008 : 16:05
I agree - we have done it a couple of years and it is fun. We don't get as many different birds here as we did in our last garden which was nearer wooded countryside
Say only a little but say it well  |
Stanley
Local Historian & Old Fart
36804 Posts
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Posted - 05/01/2008 : 16:47
I've never done it but I shall this year. Thanks for the reminder......
Stanley Challenger Graham
Barlick View
stanley at barnoldswick.freeserve.co.uk |
Gloria
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Posted - 05/01/2008 : 17:08
We did it last year, we did one the year before but I think that was for Radio Lancs. We are very lucky as we do get a large variety of birds in our garden. We have a barn owl which hunts over the fields next door, unlikely we will see that during the day.
I'd be dangerous with a brain!!!!!
www.briercliffesociety.co.uk |
Rossie
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Posted - 05/01/2008 : 17:23
Thanks for the reminder Ian, we did it last year. Noticed a great deal of bird activity when I was outside in the garden earlier today.
Gill
Kalh mera oi filoi mou
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Julie in Norfolk
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Posted - 05/01/2008 : 18:42
Count us in, plenty of tits and finches and stuff in our garden. I will try and pick an hour when the local gentry aren't blasting everything out of the skies.
Measure with a micrometer.
Mark with a pencil.
Cut with an axe. |
panbiker
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Posted - 25/01/2008 : 20:20
I have brought this back up ready for the weekend. You can now go on the RSPB website and download the counting sheet to help keep tally on the birds you see in your 1 hour observation period. The counting sheet can be found here:
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/index.asp
It shows pictures of 20 of the most common garden species you are likely to see with pictures to help identification. When you have done your observation, you can go back on the RSGB link above and submit the results of your survey. Full details are given on the site. Weather forcast looks reasonable for tomorrow so if you don't have a garden why not choose a spot in the park to do your survey. You can do the survey at any time over the weekend. Have fun and lets be knowing what you have in your garden.
Ian |
panbiker
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Posted - 27/01/2008 : 21:13
Well, we did our hour between 1.00pm and 2.00pm today. We always have various foods hanging from the small pear tree in the garden through the winter months and frequent visitors are thrushes, blackbirds, starlings, chaffinch, bluetits, sparrows, and an odd wren and a robin that visits from time to time. I had high hopes that we would get a reasonable variation throughout the hour, but it was not to be. Sum total for our front garden:
1 Sparrow
1 Chaffinch
6 Long Tailed Tits.
Ther was a veritable feast on offer but not many takers. Anyone else with more luck?
Ian |
Rossie
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 12:23
Ours was a disaster - none of our regulars visiting the feeders for some reason - perhaps they knew they were being counted and were playing games!
The sum total - 2 chaffinches, one blackbird and 10 carrion crows between 10 and 11.00 am.
Gill
Kalh mera oi filoi mou
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moh
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 14:19
We do not get half the variety of birds in this garden that we did at our other house.
We had a robin, a wren, a coal tit, a great tit, two blue tits, numerous house sparrows, a couple of Dunnocks, 3 collared doves, 4 blackbirds, and lots of starlings (greedy birds). I did it about 2 o'clock so they must have been stocking up for the night.
Say only a little but say it well |
Gloria
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 15:27
We did it from 12 til 1pm.
1 blackbird
2 bluetits
1 crow
9 chaffinches
5 goldfinches
5 great tits
5 greenfinches
4 house sparrows
5 long tailed tits
1 magpie
1 robin
3 woodpigeons
2 bullfinches
3 pheasant
1 greater spotted woodpecker
1 jay
I'd be dangerous with a brain!!!!!
www.briercliffesociety.co.uk |
panbiker
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 15:52
You have some on there that are not on the RSPB list Gloria, not exactly typical garden birds although there is an option on the website to enter more (exotic) species. Mind you from what you have said on the site before you keep o'sses don't you. I suspect your "garden" will be a might bigger than my 12ft x 12ft at the front of the house!
Ian |
Gloria
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 16:20
The last four were on the other page. We also have a barn owl, a wren and a tree creeper but they did a no show.
I'd be dangerous with a brain!!!!!
www.briercliffesociety.co.uk |
Callunna
Revolving Grey Blob
3044 Posts
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Posted - 28/01/2008 : 16:33
We did the birdwatch last year and the year before, but this year our garden is, er, a bit bigger. We have a particularly long water feature...
This morning I spotted - as well as the ducks, moorhens and swans - a beautiful kingfisher, a heron and a pheasant.
Glo, your no-show wren is a bit worrying. Throughout 2006 we had a couple of wrens who regularly visited our garden, but there was no sign of them in 2007.
Edited by - Callunna on 28/01/2008 4:37:07 PM |
Tizer
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Posted - 29/01/2008 : 12:27
Are sparrows common or rare in and around Barlick? They seem to have disappeared from many places in Britain, especially the ones with lots of recently built houses. We are lucky here in our Somerset village because they are still plentiful (and many of them seem to live in our roof!). Sparrows like to live in colonies (a bit like the old handloom weavers!) and once you've lost them it's difficult to get them back. They're not very adventurous and will look for other sparrows to live with rather than taking over a new nest box in unknown territory. Like teenagers, they are full of themselves when in a gang but get the heebie-jeebies if left on their own. So, if you have a sparrow colony - look after it!
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panbiker
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Posted - 29/01/2008 : 13:12
These are the questions that the RSPB birdwatch is designed to answer. We normally see plenty in our garden but only 1 showed up during our 1 hour survey.
Ian |
RSPB Garden Bird Watch
