Big Garden Birdwatch 2020

Having given this up as a waste of time last year, I was in two minds whether to keep an eye out for what I might see for an hour, given the poor weather and the fact that my garden, at the moment, has little to attract bird life, although there is water, a hedge to hide in, and the remainder of the evening primrose seeds (which the sparrows have been enjoying).

In the end, I managed the survey, but the results were as unimpressive and unrepresentative as in other years.

6 sparrows
1 dunnock
1 starling
2 blue tits.

Even my resident jackdaws were off somewhere else. The regularly-seen robin and resident blackbirds were absent, as were the occasional visitors, which include a wren, goldfinches, bullfinches, long-tailed tits and rooks.

I suspect that the enclosed and untidy space that is the back garden (at the moment, anyway) is just not very inviting. I really miss the numbers and variety of birds I could see when back on the farm. My neighbour's new fence could be a good place for a couple of nest boxes once I plant up against it, having given it a lick of preservative first. More work to do, but worth it to increase the local bird life.

The starling is beginning to look like a new resident, with loud song and beautiful breeding plumage. I shall have to see what I can do to encourage him and others to stick around.