RSPB Garden Birdwatch 2016

This year the Birdwatch was carried out over the weekend of the 30th and 31st of January. I did mine on the Saturday between 08:00 and 09:00, which was the earliest start ever, since I first started back in 2001.

I particularly like to monitor the Finches and Sparrows as per the bar chart above. House Sparrows and Goldfinches seem to be holding up well, but there have been no Chaffinches since 2013. However, I saw my first Greenfinch this year since 2010. The general decline in Chaffinches and Greenfinches is thought to be due to a disease called Trichomonosis, which was once a common disease in Pigeons and Doves.

Starlings are another species I like to monitor closely, and the chart above shows that they seem to be recovering slightly in my garden. This is probably due to the regular feeding of mealworms housed in a adjustable cage to keep out larger birds such as Pigeon and Magpie.

8 Species of birds were recorded this year with a grand total of 31 seen. These were as follows:

Blackbird	1
Blue Tit	2
Goldfinch	3
Greenfinch	1
House Sparrow	6
Magpie	2
Starling	8
Wood Pigeon	8

The number of Wood Pigeons has obviously swelled the total somewhat and over the last 4 years there has been quite a decline in the total number of birds seen and also the number of species. I still think this is due to the obsession with removing trees and large shrubs from gardens. In my daughters garden on a similar type housing estate to mine, she has two fairly large trees along with others in nearby neighbours. The number of birds she observes is quite incredible. Along with the 'normal' she has regular visits of Nuthatch, Brambling, Lesser Redpoll, Siskin, Marsh Tit and Blackcap.

There are of course a few other birds regularly seen in my garden, but have not turned up during the birdwatch. These are Dunnock, Robin, Wren and Pied Wagtail.