Because of the Government Lockdown, my birdwatching has now become very localised. As I have mentioned in previous posts it has brought into sharp focus what birds are in the local area in conjunction with the ebb and flow of the seasons. To take this a stage further; with the advent of the first lockdown last March (2020), I started a garden list. I set out some clear parameters which the birds had to fall into, in order to be recorded – they were as follows;
A bird visiting the garden.
A bird seen from the garden or flying over.
A bird heard from the garden; for example Owls or night flying migrants.
I must admit, the Garden list has now become somewhat of an obsession!! Since last March I have now recorded 55 species including highlights such as Peregrine Falcon, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Goldcrest and wintering Blackcap. Not to mention night migrating Common Scoter and Grey Plover!! Not bad for a semi- urban housing estate in North Yorkshire. Anyway you can imagine my delight at the weekend just passed when I had two new additions to my garden list; Song Thrush and Redwing. Admittedly, I have recorded these birds from the garden, as flyovers but to get them actually in the garden was rather special!!
The Song Thrush was actually the first one to actually visit the garden in over 3 years; their numbers seemed to have shot up over the last few weeks with frequent sightings locally; I suspect the really cold winds we had over the last week or so 1-14th February pushed a lot of Continental birds into the eastern counties of the U.K.
The Redwing was a total surprise; from early November on Autumn evenings I have heard their thin contact calls as they fly over. Also I have seen lots of Redwings feeding in the fields and bushes on my local walks. But this is the first one I have recorded actually feeding in the garden!!!
So if you have never made a garden list I can thoroughly recommend you starting one, but a note of caution …. just be careful as it might turn into an obsession!!!
