Sunday 31 January 2010

Big Garden Birdwatch

I counted the birds in the garden for 1 hour this morning, with the following results.

Blackbird x 2
Blue tit x 3
Collared dove x 2
Dunnock x 1
Goldfinch x 2
Great tit x 1
Greenfinch x 1
Robin x 2

These are not the total number of birds who have visited the garden today, they are the total numbers seen together at any one time during the selected hour.

The numbers have been duly entered in the RSPB's count, and will help build a picture of the changes in bird populations across regions.


A greenfinch spotted in the garden last summer

Saturday 30 January 2010

16:00 Sunny 2 o C. Wind NW 6mph. Humidity 66%. Pressure 1002mB. Visibility very good High tide today 11:10, 9.59m

Dock gates closed.

It has been a beautiful, bright, still day following a frosty morning.

Just 2 cormorants and 5 mallard in the dock basin, and a trio of black-headed gulls along the top of the dock gate.



There were half-a-dozen cormorants fishing in the Ribble, which probably wouldn't prove too popular with the anglers on the bullnose.



Birds seen and heard in the woodland along the river included blackbirds, blue tits and robins. These are regular visitors to the local gardens. It's not too late to join in with the RSPB Big Garden birdwatch on January 30 and 31, it only takes an hour of your time, just click on the link for details.

Snowy Interval

Winter Garden

The slippery conditions underfoot have kept me indoors for some days. The swing bridge has been closed to traffic following several skids and bumps and there is black ice in many places.

My birding has been limited to the back garden. There are always plenty of birds to watch in the garden, with a variety of feeders and feed plus a supply of (unfrozen) water to attract them. On a typical day the following will be seen here:
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Goldfinch
Robin
Blackbird
Wren
Dunnock
Woodpigeon

Less frequent visitors are:
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Chaffinch
Bullfinch
Long Tailed Tit
Thrush
House Sparrow
Starling
Magpie
Sparrowhawk

The RSPB will be holding its annual Big Garden Birdwatch on 30 & 31 January, 2010.

They are asking people to count the birds they see in their garden over one hour during either of those two dates, you can find further details and register online via the above link. Why not give it a try? You may be surprised at the variety of species to be found on your doorstep.

Friday 1 January 2010

14:00 Sunny Intervals -1 o C. Wind N 7mph. Humidity 94%. Pressure 1008mB. Visibility moderate High tide today 11:20, 9.48m

Dock gates closed

A very frosty morning, still below freezing. The water in the locks is completely frozen over and there are ice patches in the dock and basin, making interesting patterns.

In the dock basin:
40 black-headed gulls
1 coot
1 cormorant

There are 100+ gulls on the Albert Edward dock, mainly black-headed with some lesser black-backed