A Bird that Lands is Worth Two that Go Whoosh

Goodgymmers from across the country joined forces to contribute to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2023.

The idea is that you sit and watch your garden or local green space for 1 hour and tally up how many birds you see. They only count if they land, not fly overhead and you only count the largest group you see at one time (to make sure you aren't counting the same individuals several times!)

This information will give the RSPB an idea of bird populations and which ones may be struggling and need support. So far, over 5 MILLION results have been logged, but watchers have until Feb 19th to submit results.

4 members of GG Sheffield were hosted by Celine and we took turns surveying her garden for the hour whilst the others crafted. Highlight was a teeny wren, which she'd never seen before in her garden.

Jenni from Ealing was pleased to see a flock of starlings.

Gwyn and Tracey from GG Derby joined forces to do 2 watches in each other's gardens. Gwyn managed to get some excellent shots of the birds on his feeders, although their usual goldfinch customers eluded them this time.

Georgeta had a visit from what she calls "our" woodpecker... "Well we believe there are most likely 3 of them , in summer we saw the mother with 2 chicks together, but they only come one at the time now. 😃"

Amy from Maidenhead reported "Just three fat pigeons for me! I could hear lots of other birds and see some nests but couldn’t see the birds. I don’t think it helped that my children were out too and making lots of noise. I will appreciate it much more now when I see birds whilst out and about"

Sheila said "my highlight was a male blackcap and 10 goldfinches - I knew we had a few visiting every morning, but had never actually counted them before! Thanks for encouraging everyone to join in"