Most weekday mornings during the Lockdown, between 8 and 9am, I have been taking part in #BreakfastBirdwatch on Twitter, organised by the RSPB.
On Wednesday 29th April I decided to live-Tweet my sightings as they happened.
This is what I saw.
08:05: It’s a beautiful, sunny morning here in Basingstoke after yesterday’s rain. The Rooks have already overturned my seed trays & pulled the suet coconut feeder off its post! A Robin is my first bird this hour.
08:08: A Dunnock is now eating the spilled seed and a male Blackbird has arrived to join it. I can hear a Wren a few gardens away, and a Goldfinch is singing out - I haven’t spotted it yet though.
08:10: A Starling is having a flappingly-good bath, sending water droplets everywhere! A Great Tit is making its two-toned call, and a Chaffinch just called out. I haven’t seen one of them in my garden for a while so, fingers-crossed!
08:12: A Magpie just swooped into the garden, scaring off the Starling, but it didn’t stay long and the Starling is now back. I’m just gonna go and refill the upturned feeders!
08:22: Feeders refilled! I left some of the suet pellets on the ground as I know the Blackbird and Robin will eat those. Didn’t take long for the Rooks and Jackdaw to arrive! I’ve only just walked back in!
08:28: We’ve had a lot of Red Kite activity over the past few days. I now recognise their strange call: a long drawn out note followed by a few shorter clipped notes. Hopefully I’ll see them soaring around again today. Meanwhille, all is quiet in the garden.
08:33: A Woodpigeon and Jackdaw just arrived. It’s been noticeable how Magpies will actively scrap with Jackdaws in the garden, but keep a distance from the bigger Rooks. Despite the long tail, Magpies are a similar size to Jackdaws.
08:40: Now 3 Woodpigeons are feeding. One of them just flew onto the washing line and started pecking at, and pulling up, the cover. Never seen them act interested in anything like that before.
08:47: A Collared Dove has arrived! Still one Woodpigeon here. Would love to see the House Sparrows that have recently been visiting, and the Goldfinches which stop by for a drink & sunflower seeds at least twice a day. Ooh! And I saw a Greenfinch yesterday, too.
08:48: Suddenly there are 4 Starlings, 4 Rooks and a Jackdaw! Or there were! I tried to photograph them and they all left!
08:52: The Magpie is back! The sunlight is catching the blue feathers in the wing and tail. So lovely! A Starling returned, but only came into the garden once the Magpie left. The Starling made its characteristic grating rasp to show displeasure at the Magpie!
08:54: 6 minutes to go of this live-tweeted #BreakfastBirdwatch. The Dunnock has made its way out of the shrubs to get a few bites, but left again as soon as a Rook glided in. Still no sign of Blue Tits or Great Tits this morning. They were looking very wet indeed yesterday.
08:58: Can’t see any birds in my garden, but I can hear Woodpigeons cooing and House Sparrows chirping somewhere else!
09:06: And that’s a wrap on my #BreakfastBirdwatch this morning. 9 species seen during the hour:
3 Common Woodpigeon
1 Collared Dove
1 Common Magpie
1 Jackdaw
4 Rook
4 Common Starling
1 Eurasian Blackbird
1 European Robin
1 Dunnock
09:08: And just as I finished the #BreakfastBirdwatch, my particular Rook friend turned up for a suet treat (I kept some of the suet block back for it).
You can join in with the Breakfast Birdwatch too!
Use #BreakfastBirdwatch on Twitter to share your sighting and see what others are posting. And tag me at @CasualBirderPod to let me know what you see!