Saturday, 28 March 2020

Lockdown listing

So I had a self imposed isolation following my father in law being hospitalised for five days and  testing positive for Covid-19 but thankfully he seems to have weathered it well which at 84 years of age is a relief. Anyway I took a day out at the end of the isolation but remained in my car so really remained in self isolation and I managed to add Stone Curlew to my year list from the car but it didn't feel like birding and I quickly returned home a little low in spirit at the restrictions I was imposing on myself.

Move forward a couple of days and the country was put into LOCKDOWN. so after two weeks isolation I had the very brief and not too rewarding drive to the Brecks and now find myself back in lockdown so I have decided to produce a garden lockdown list and as of today that list consists of ....

House Sparrow 
(ever present although the large colony of around 70 birds has dispersed and is now much smaller so my feeders are having a little breather)
Feral Pigeons
(ever present and a real pest....a group of around ten birds are never far away)
Wood Pigeon
(a couple of birds visit the garden daily)
Collared Dove
(again at least two birds feeding in the garden daily)
Goldfinch
(Daily visitors although numbers have dropped since winter)
Greenfinch
(One seen yesterday which was the first for a long time tried to get to the feeders but didn't settle)
Dunnock
(resident breeding pair)
Great Tit
(resident breeding pair)
Blue Tit
(resident and never far from the feeders or apples)
Blackbird
(resident pair enjoying the apples I provide them)
Robin
(breeding resident pair)
Starling
(Spend most of the day around my neighbours fat balls but drop into the garden daily)
Song Thrush
(heard only this week but has been in the garden earlier this year)
Magpie
(daily and nesting two doors down in a fir tree which they've used for a few years now)
Carrion Crow
(Daily and nesting in an oak viewable from the garden)
Jackdaw
(Fly over)
Rook 
(fly over we have a farmers field not too far from the house)
Lesser Black backed Gull
(Daily circling around overhead they rest on a local playing field)
Herring Gull
(as above)
Black headed Gull
(as above but more numerous and many hundreds travel over the garden at dusk to roost)
Common Gull
(Most days apart from the summer months if I spend enough time in the garden and regular in the winter day time roost on the local fields (seen two late birds this week))
Buzzard
(seen most days over head had one Thursday circling with a Red kite)
Red Kite
(Seen two this week but they are a very new bird to the garden list)
Grey Heron
(two flew to roost last night)
Green Woodpecker
(heard only on 26th whilst gardening)
Ring necked Parakeet
(seen most mornings leaving a local roost but rarely visit the garden thankfully)
Wren
(one briefly in the virginia creeper on 26th)

So I have 27 on my lock down list this week
I have a total of 64 on my all time garden in 30 years of listing so 27 is a good start this week but who knows this lock down may just get me finding a new bird for the total?

Anyway I'll keep you posted on any additions as we move through lock down.

Stay safe guys and enjoy your garden or window listing if you can.
I might even get the camera out at some point to see if I can catch any of the garden birds with it.

Year list now 189
Lock down list now 27

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