BTO Garden BirdWatch 24-30 June 2007

We've had two new garden year ticks this week: on Sunday 24 we had our first Nuthatch of the year, and then on Thursday 28 we had a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker feeding on the peanuts at the bottom of the garden.

In order of appearance:

1. Nuthatch (1 - garden year tick)
2. Great Tit (1 - juvenile)
3. Chaffinch (22)
4. Greenfinch (15)
5. Blackbird (5)
6. Starling (20)
7. Pheasant (1 - male)
8. Goldfinch (4)
9. Woodpigeon (4)
10. Collared Dove (3)
11. Siskin (2)
12. House Sparrow (25)
13. Blue Tit (2 - adult and juvenile)
14. Great Spotted Woodpecker ( 1 - juvenile GYT)
15. Jackdaw (2)
16. Song Thrush (1 - juvenile)
17. Carrion Crow (1)
18. Pied Wagtail (1)
19. Dunnock (1 - juvenile)

Juvenile Greenfinch

1. 

For more information on the BTO's Garden BirdWatch Project visit: http://www.bto.org/gbw/GBW_PROJECT_INVOLVED.htm


Our Garden Year List currently looks like this:

(in order of appearance)

1. Robin
2. Chaffinch
3. Greenfinch
4. Goldfinch
5. wren
6. Blackbird
7. Collared Dove
8. Woodpigeon
9. Starling
10. Blue Tit
11. Sparrowhawk
12. House Sparrow
13. Dunnock
14. Jackdaw
15. Black-headed Gull
16. Song Thrush
17. Pied Wagtail
18. Siskin
19. Blackcap
20. Chiffchaff
21. Long-tailed Tit
22. Great Tit
23. Yellowhammer
24. Feral Pigeon
25. Carrion Crow
    
26. Pheasant
27. Nuthatch
28. Great Spotted Woodpecker

Overhead, and nesting on some of the houses (not ours, unfortunately), we have Swallows and House Martins, though not as many as last year, and the odd flurry of Swifts passing through.

Pheasant Returns

We had regular visits from five different male pheasants in 2005/2006, and on two occasions we had three juveniles in the garden, but we've never had more than one adult in the garden at any one time. The visits from the pheasants ended rather suddenly on 11 June 2006 after a 31-week run. They were almost daily visitors.

Now, exactly one year on, they are back! Or, at least, one is.

Fledgling Blue Tit

A dull morning brightened by a couple of blue tits.

(As is the way during the breeding season, the adult is looking rather tatty!)

Blackbirds

We have three regular male Blackbirds visiting us at the moment. All three are coming to the top of the back steps looking for any food I put out for them. They seem to prefer raisins over mealworms at the moment. As they are territorial birds, they don't tolerate each other at all.

Next stage will be with the door open so I'm not taking photos through glass!

Scruff, my favourite.

House Sparrows

A little House Sparrow gallery (lots of them around at the moment).










And finally - Relaxi-Sparrow!

Back to the Garden

There has been no sign of Lola or her chicks around the garden yet, as far as I know, but there is plenty of other activity.

On Friday afternoon we had a brief visit from a male Yellowhammer but I wasn't quick enough with the camera. They always seem very wary of the other birds when they visit our garden.

Juvenile female House Sparrow - not long out of the nest.



Adult male House Sparrow


Male Chaffinch feeding his female fledgling





Juvenile Starling

Adult Starling