Bit of a departure for this post. I’ve been seeing a lot of wildlife in the time since my last post, mostly out my window, but once from a site visit for work (couldn’t be done from home). But instead of picking a species (I will do in subsequent posts) I’ll list my bird sightings from the lockdown period, which, in the UK started on the 23rd of March. The rules are birds I’ve seen in my garden or flown over the house, and birds seen on my patch which I walk around as part of my government approved exercise time out of the house. I changed my walking location a few days into the lockdown to avoid a short drive so now it is the park (Poynton Pool) I walk to rather than the slightly further away nature reserve (Jackson’s Brickworks); so a few of the birds are from there. Anyway on with the list… Oh before I start I should point out I’m not normally someone who avidly keeps a bird list, I normally find it akin to trainspotting, but these are special times.
- Greylag Goose Anser anser
- Pink-footed Goose Anser brachyrhynchus
- Canada Goose Branta canadensis
- Mute Swan Cygnus olor
- Mallard Anas platyrhynchos
- Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula
- Great Crested Grebe Podiceps cristatus
- Feral Pigeon Columba livia
- Stock Dove Columba oenas
- Woodpigeon Columba palumbus
- Collared Dove Streptopelia decaocto
- Moorhen Gallinula chloropus
- Coot Fulica atra
- Oystercatcher Haematopus haematopus
- Herring Gull Larus argentatus
- Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus
- Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo
- Grey Heron Ardea cinerea
- Buzzard Buteo buteo
- Jay Garrulus glandarius
- Magpie Pica pica
- Jackdaw Corvus monedula
- Rook Corvus frugilegus
- Carrion Crow Corvus corone
- Coal Tit Periparus ater
- Blue Tit Cyanistes caeruleus
- Great Tit Parus major
- Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica
- Chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita
- Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus
- Goldcrest Regulus regulus
- Nuthatch Sitta europaea
- Wren Troglodytes troglodytes
- Starling Sturnus vulgaris
- Song Thrush Turdus philomelos
- Mistle Thrush Turdus viscivorus
- Blackbird Turdus merula
- Robin Erithacus rubecula
- Dunnock Prunella modularis
- House Sparrow Passer domesticus
- Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs
- Bullfinch Pyrrhula pyrrhula
- Greenfinch Chloris chloris
- Lesser Redpoll Acanthis cabaret
- Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis
45 species by my count (I can’t count though!). Modest by some standards (I’ve seen equivalent lists of approaching 100) but okay for a tiny suburban garden and a suburban park. Highlights so far are the Pink-footed Goose which was by itself and on the ground when it should be well on it’s way back to above the Arctic Circle by now, and the Oystercatcher which I heard fly over the house a couple of nights ago.
Will update this sporadically for as long as the lockdown continues (not long hopefully! well probably will be long but got to be optimistic).
A Species a Day 