# RSPB Garden Birdwatch



## peedee (May 10, 2005)

For all you twitchers or budding twitchers this years Birdwatch is 30th 31st January. See http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/ for more information and forms.

peedee


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

Yes I also got the reminder Email from RSPB today. Have done the survey for the past 5 years now. Just hope the 10 long tailed tits and greater spotted woodpecker visit again as they have done every day for the past 2 weeks!


Trevor


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## peedee (May 10, 2005)

I have done it the past 3years Trevor although "twitching" is not a hobby of mine although unlike many I do like to know the names of the types of birds, trees and common plants we encounter in our every day lives.

peedee


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## loughrigg (Nov 10, 2008)

If it had been last week, I could have recorded a moorhen strutting round our (urban) garden. We've got a small lake about half a mile away, but I've never seen moorhens there.

Mike


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## Telbell (May 1, 2005)

If you've got several people counting in the asame area how does the RSPB know they're not the same birds being logged- and wouldn't this "skew" the final statistics?

Just a thought :roll:


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

Are you counting? Im trying to get my count through but it wont recognise my email is this because it is only seeing your email Peedee as the info was sent to your email??


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## locovan (Oct 17, 2007)

I have answered it --yes I have to join so thats ok I will and then I will get my count in 
Come here little birdie --tweet tweet. :roll:


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## trevorf (May 16, 2005)

> If you've got several people counting in the asame area how does the RSPB know they're not the same birds being logged- and wouldn't this "skew" the final statistics?


You only count the birds inside your own garden boundary and choose a one hour period. Also you do not actually count all the birds but the maximum number of each species seen at any given moment. 
ie - 4 sparrows

if another 2 sparrows come along later, the count is still 4 sparrows not 6.

Trevor


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## loughrigg (Nov 10, 2008)

trevorf said:


> > If you've got several people counting in the asame area how does the RSPB know they're not the same birds being logged- and wouldn't this "skew" the final statistics?
> 
> 
> You only count the birds inside your own garden boundary and choose a one hour period. Also you do not actually count all the birds but the maximum number of each species seen at any given moment.
> ...


We have a fairly small garden, but it still has four medium sized trees (with over a dozen feeders) numerous large shrubs and a mass of ivy up the side of the house.

Most hours of daylight (unless the sparrowhawk is around) there will be any combination of starlings (30+), goldfinches (up to 20), greenfinches (15+), blackbirds, the odd thrush, collared doves, pigeons, blue tits, great tits, robins, gulls (mainly black-headed but we have had lesser black back on the roof), chaffinches, crows, dunnock, pied wagtail and any number of house sparrows (30+ pairs in the ivy) - and the movement of birds in and out of the garden and between trees and feeders is constant.

I'm not sure how you count that lot!

Mike


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