This year I am keeping a list of birds seen in or from my garden.
Where did June go? I know I was in Scotland for over a week (and you know I was there too as I wrote about the Flow Country here and here) but suddenly June is gone.
I have added a species to my garden list for the year but not to the overall garden list of all time. I’m slightly disappointed – I had high hopes for June but we now start the gradual decline to the end of 2019!
The new species for the year was, at last, a House Martin – but it took until 28 June to add itself to my 2019 list.
- Robin
- House Sparrow
- Jackdaw
- Blackbird
- Woodpigeon
- Starling
- Black-headed Gull
- Great Tit
- Red Kite
- Carrion Crow
- Chaffinch
- Goldfinch
- Rook
- Collared Dove
- Dunnock
- Wren
- Long-tailed Tit
- Blue Tit
- Common Gull
- Redwing
- Fieldfare
- Reed Bunting
- Greenfinch
- Blackcap
- Song Thrush
- Herring Gull
- Lesser Black-backed Gull
- Buzzard
- Pied Wagtail
- Stock Dove
- Magpie
- Green Woodpecker
- Mallard
- Sparrowhawk
- Coal Tit
- Swallow
- Cormorant
- Yellowhammer
- House Martin
Just 39 species so far – that’s a bit shameful! I’ll try to do better.
There are good numbers of Swifts over my garden at the moment and they are screaming. Last year was quite a good year too. But they used to be sharing the skies of this part of east Northants with House Martins and things have definitely changed.
It doesn’t look like this is an entirely local issue either; the excellent Birdtrack shows a decline in ‘numbers’ too:
My top target species for july is Hobby – I’m surprised I haven’t seen one yet but July evenings are generally well suited to sitting in a chair with a glass of Rioja and looking into the skies.
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Jealous of the Swifts. In fifteen years at our present nest, we have yet to see one over our village. They are in the area, just don’t like our village.
Our house martins have been getting later in the past few years but were bang on time this year, last week of April. However, they now nest on the north side of the house having had all five nests on the west side taken over by house sparrows. Well, those that they didn’t destroy. That also impacts on the wrens that used to use the old HM nests when the winter temperatures dropped to minus four. They don’t seem to like they way the sparrows leave them.
Still, with enough Rioja I find you can see anything! Cheers.
Aren’t you actually on 40 ? I couldn’t see Swift on your list ?