So many days spent in this infernal lockdown, so many days to study my garden birds. All this at a time when I am normally overseas and leading birding tours, so to spend time on my home birds is a new experience for this time of year.
To date my list has built-up to, what I think is, a highly respectable 68 species. Yet some of the most pleasurable moments have been watching the regular antics of my most common birds. A first for me was to witness a male Blackbird cohort with 2 females, one is brooding eggs, the other nest building. The nest building female is totally obsessed with harrying the brooding female, frequently chasing her off her brooding duties. They are persistent souls, one tormenting, the other returning to brood her eggs. It remains to be seen if this scenario ends in success or otherwise for the brooding female.
Blue Tit, Great Tit, Spotless Starling and House Sparrow are all nesting in the garden, and I suspect one or two others too. Migration is continuing over and, in the garden, highlights include Subalpine Warbler and of course large numbers of raptors, swifts and martins overhead. Bee Eater entertain daily now, I am loving seeing them and hearing their chattering as they keep in contact with one another. Nightingale is now in residence as too is at least one singing male Orphean Warbler.
How is your garden list? I hope you are enjoying, as best as you can, seeing birds in your garden, or from your balcony or even through the window. I have the potential to add further species to my list, so as ever I am hopeful to see some new garden birds.
Garden List explained.
B = Breeding either in or near to my garden
R = Seen everyday
S = Regular, but not every day
M = Migration thus intermittent
V = Rare or even 1st time recorded in or over the garden
Lockdown Garden Bird List
White Stork S
Grey Heron V
Griffon Vulture R
Booted Eagle R
Short-toed Eagle R
Black Kite M
Red Kite M/V
Long-legged Buzzard V
Common Buzzard R
Montagu’s Harrier V
Peregrine Falcon S
Kestrel R
Lesser Kestrel S
Sparrowhawk S
Woodpigeon R
Collared Dove R
Feral Pigeon R
Little Owl S
Hoopoe R
Meadow Pipit M
White Wagtail M
Alpine Swift M
Common Swift R +M
Pallid Swift R +M
Green Woodpecker R
Great-spotted Woodpecker S
Wryneck V
Bee Eater R
Eurasian Cuckoo S
Woodchat Shrike R
Crested Lark R
Thekla Lark S
Swallow R +M
Red-rumped Swallow R +M
House Martin R +M
Sand Martin M
Crag Martin S
Blackbird R +B
Song Thrush M
Nightingale R +B
Robin M
Black Redstart M
Common Redstart M
Stonechat S
Pied Flycatcher M
Orphean Warbler R
Blackcap R +B
Sardinian Warbler R +B
Subalpine Warbler M
Chiffchaff M
Bonelli’s Warbler M
Firecrest S
Great Tit R +B
Blue Tit R +B
Short-toed Treecreeper R +B
Spotless Starling R +B
Raven R
Red-billed Chough S
Jay R
House Sparrow R +B
Wren R
Hawfinch S
Chaffinch R
Linnet S
Goldfinch R
Greenfinch R
Serin R
Cirl Bunting S
Article and Photographs by Peter Jones
Note: The views expressed in articles are those of the authors, and are not necessarily those of the Society.