Garden birds October 2019

This year I am keeping a list of birds seen in or from my garden.

October has been a good month for birds with four new species for the garden list for the year – two of which were garden lifers! All four species were recorded on 22 or 23 October during a period of good weather when sitting in the garden with a cup of tea was not just possible but actually enticing.

All four new species were pretty characteristic of October; Goldcrest (two together) and Jay (flying over with something in its beak, maybe an acorn) were the garden lifers), Skylark (a typical October fly over) and Grey Wagtail (another bird characteristic of early autumn wandering) the other two species.

There were Red Admirals on the Ivy right through until 30 October, and maybe today too but I was otherwise engaged. They would have seen and heard returning Redwings and Fieldfares overhead if Red Admirals have the sensory ability for birdwatching.

Also, there have been flocks of Woodpigeons moving south and west in late October early mornings. Rates of around 800/hr were reached. We probably don’t think of Woodpigeons as migrants but birds come into the UK at this time of year. Have a look, the peak time seems to last until at least the end of the first week of November eg see here, here, here.

Here is the species list, so far, for 2019;

1. Robin
2. House Sparrow
3. Jackdaw
4. Blackbird
5. Woodpigeon
6. Starling
7. Black-headed Gull
8. Great Tit
9. Red Kite
10. Carrion Crow
11. Chaffinch
12. Goldfinch
13. Rook
14. Collared Dove
15. Dunnock
16. Wren
17. Long-tailed Tit
18. Blue Tit
19. Common Gull
20. Redwing
21. Fieldfare
22. Reed Bunting
23. Greenfinch
24. Blackcap
25. Song Thrush
26. Herring Gull
27. Lesser Black-backed Gull
28. Buzzard
29. Pied Wagtail
30. Stock Dove
31. Magpie
32. Green Woodpecker
33. Mallard
34. Sparrowhawk
35. Coal Tit
36. Swallow
37. Cormorant
38. Yellowhammer
39. Swift
40. House Martin
41. Kestrel
42. Raven
43. Hobby
44. Peregrine
45. Sand Martin
46. Pheasant
47. Great Spotted Woodpecker
48. Chiffchaff
49. Tawny Owl
50. Goldcrest
51. Skylark
52. Jay
53. Grey Wagtail

I asked you to guess what the garden list total (ever) would be by the end of the year – for fun. It started on 56 species and I’ve now added six species (Herring Gull, Cormorant, Yellowhammer, Mallard, Goldcrest and Jay) this year to bring the total so far to 62 species.

Of those readers who had a guess, for fun, on what that total will be at the end of 2019 these are the survivors:

• Owen 62 species
• Alan Cranston 64 species
• Nick Bee 64 species
• Darren Riley 65 species

Just 61 days to go to add more species, and possibly two of the least promising months in which to do it. A cold weather snap might well add Lapwing, or even Snipe, to the list (Golden Plover is already there). I am planning to invest heavily in niger seed in December in the hope of attracting a Redpoll (and in the hope that I might see it if I do!).

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