On 26 January I took part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch in my garden. This is the world’s biggest garden wildlife survey and the records provide a vital snapshot of the UK’s birds each winter so the RSPB can monitor trends and find out how our garden birds are going. The 2020 birdwatch took place over 3 days from the 25 to 27 January where you spend an hour counting the birds that you see. I choose an hour in the morning when the birds are busy having their breakfast as I know that this is when I have the most feathered visitors in the garden and this year I counted the following birds:
| Blackbird 3 | Blackcap 1 | Blue Tit 8 | Bullfinch 1 | Chaffinch 4 | Coal Tit 1 |
| Crow 2 | Dunnock 2 | Goldfinch 5 | Great Tit 8 | Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 | Jackdaw 1 |
| Jay 1 | Long-Tailed Tit 12 | Magpie 5 | Nuthatch 2 | Robin 2 | Siskin 1 |
| Sparrowhawk 1 | Stock Dove 2 | Wood Pigeon 4 |
This is the first year since moving to this garden that I didn’t spot a pheasant during the hour. In recent years I have had up to 25 female pheasants and 5 male pheasants as regular visitors for breakfast but I haven’t see any female pheasants and just the occasional male pheasant so far this year. I don’t know where they have all gone. I’m just hoping that the local cats aren’t putting them off visiting.
Along with the birds I also saw 5 grey squirrels and a muntjac deer. Earlier on in January I also had a fox and a heron visit the garden. I also have a very active mole in my garden.
Regarding the squirrels, I let them have access to the bird table and one peanut feeder. All the other bird feeders are squirrel proof. I’ve tried a variety of squirrel proof feeders over the years and the best ones I have come across are the squirrel buster feeders which have a weight-activated mechanism which means that the ports close when a squirrel climbs on them – they truly work for me. The other types I had tried previously work for a while but the squirrels soon work out how to get into them, so now I only buy the squirrel buster feeders. By allowing the squirrel access to the bird table and one peanut feeder which is in a separate position to the other bird feeders, it means that the squirrels don’t pester the other birds whilst they are eating.
The suet blocks are particular favourites with the woodpeckers, long-tailed tits and starlings.
