RSPB Birdwatch
Eco Church
The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is from the 26th – 28th of this month, when we are asked to spend one hour watching birds in our gardens and recording the highest number of each species present at any one time. All records can be sent in to www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch and will help the RSPB in their monitoring of garden birds throughout the country. It is a super way to get children interested in wildlife. We first took part in 1987 when our daughter was nine and she has gone on to have a lifelong interest in nature. We have kept our own records of what we have seen and they chart losses and gains over the years. House Sparrows came top in 1987 with 14 present at any one time; their numbers then dwindled and none were recorded from 1997. It wasn’t that none came at the required time to be counted, we were just not getting them at all, so you can imagine our delight when finally, after 23 years, they returned to our garden and were there for the Big Bird Count. We now have up to ten which regularly sit in the big climbing rose by the kitchen window, warming themselves in the sun, before flying across to the feeders. We don’t know why they left us, we weren’t doing anything differently, but we are very pleased to have them back. We have also gained Goldfinches, which have regularly come to the feeders since 2008 and also take Lavender and Lemon Balm seeds when they are ripe. We deliberately leave the bushes untrimmed until late winter, to allow the birds a more natural food supply.
