Cooling Marshes, Kent, 7th December 2014

Sunday 30 January 2011

Big Garden Birdwatch 2011

It seems to me that even before thousands of people dedicated an hour this weekend to birdwatching, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch was a success. I often hear criticism of the RSPB's marketing power but judging by the number of  news articles I saw that covered the BGBW this week, it's working. It was even the cover story on the weird, in-house 'newspaper' in Waitrose* yesterday. Perhaps the real proof though came in the form of numerous non-birdy friends and colleagues who I found suddenly taking an interest. When it comes to birdwatching, the more the merrier!
*I don't normally shop here but I was passing and I like their vegetable pasties. I also like their biscuits.

Not having a garden of my own to conduct a 'garden birdwatch' in, today I sought refuge for an hour in my surrogate garden - the beautiful Sydenham Hill Wood in Dulwich. With cool, clear skies overhead and a full flask of coffee in my bag I staked out a clearing in the wood for an hour. This list is isn't gonna win prizes, but it's a valuable snapshot of a woodland bird community.

Sydenham Hill Wood (meadow) 0946-1046 - Results:

Blackbird 1
Blue Tit 3
Great Tit 1
Magpie 3
Woodpigeon 1
Ring-necked Parakeet 1
Carrion Crow 1
Nuthatch 1
Great-spotted Woodpecker 1
Treecreeper 1- an unexpected highlight! Recorded in wood but rarely seen, first sighting since last summer that I'm aware of

Did you go birdwatching this weekend? How does your list compare? It'll be interesting to see what trends emerge from this years survey.


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