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Irish Garden Bird Survey 2020/21

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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    My prediction this winter is that each of Blue Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit will increase their presence in gardens and move up the rankings as a result. They seem to have had a really successful breeding season - I'm inundated with them at the moment! Very few finches appearing in the garden as yet, but still plenty of time for them to arrive as the weather gets colder and natural food sources in the wider countryside get depleted!


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,761 ✭✭✭Knine


    I've signed up for this for the first time! At present I have lots of Goldfinch, Sparrows & Coal Tits.

    Looking forward to it. Do they release results each year?


  • Registered Users Posts: 570 ✭✭✭axe2grind




    Hi Everyone,

    Just thought I'd start a thread in advance of the Irish Garden Bird Survey starting again on Monday 30th November 2020.

    I am glad you told us here, because I could not find a start date on the website.
    Only says first week of December....


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Knine wrote: »
    I've signed up for this for the first time! At present I have lots of Goldfinch, Sparrows & Coal Tits.

    Looking forward to it. Do they release results each year?

    There'll be an article on the BirdWatch Ireland website detailing the results from last year!


    (You don't have to be a member to take part, but the results are always published first in the winter issue of the magazine that BirdWatch Ireland members get)


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    See below for an account of some of the distances that common garden birds travel. While some species are very much resident, with the likes of Blue Tits rarely venturing outside 5km for their entire lives, other species like Blackbird and Starling can come from as far away as Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Russia in the winter, adding to our resident population of the same species.

    https://birdwatchireland.ie/irish-garden-bird-survey-how-far-do-garden-birds-travel/

    Thrifty-In-Transit-YouTube-Thumbnail-1536x864.jpg


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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Next up on the topic of Irish Garden Birds, I've written an article about the lifespan of the average garden bird - see below for more details and please share to people you think might be interested!

    https://birdwatchireland.ie/irish-garden-birds-2020-how-long-do-your-garden-birds-live/


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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    First bird I saw when I opened my curtains on Monday was a beautiful male Bullfinch - a good start! I also had a Sparrowhawk nearly collide with my legs as it zipped past yesterday, and today a Rook - which is a very infrequent visitor to my garden for some reason (despite plenty of them in the area). Loads of Blue Tits, Coal Tits and Great Tits - the usual Robins and Blackbirds, a few Goldfinch and Chaffinch starting to accumulate too.

    I had a male and female Siskin over the weekend - hoping they reappear sooner rather than later!


  • Registered Users Posts: 104 ✭✭yaknowski


    Urban garden in Clondalkin.

    6 bluetits at the proof feeder.
    A rake of sparrows, starlings.
    1 very bolshy robin
    A female blackbird
    A grey wagtail, which I'd never seen before.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,761 ✭✭✭Knine


    Yesterday I had

    13 Goldfinch
    12 Sparrows
    2 Starlings
    1 Chaffinch
    1 Wood Pigeon

    Lots of fighting over the feeders


  • Posts: 0 [Deleted User]


    Anyone notice that thrushes have become scarce? We used to have them all the time, particularly in the early morning, catching snails. But the past couple of years I've seen hardly any.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 275 ✭✭mattcullen


    inthehat wrote: »
    Anyone notice that thrushes have become scarce? We used to have them all the time, particularly in the early morning, catching snails. But the past couple of years I've seen hardly any.

    I see one couple of times a week in a neighbour's crab apple tree but never in our garden whereas the blackbirds will use the same tree but they will visit the garden daily. With fat balls out ( north Co Dublin) we get a lot of starling and sparrows. If we put out sunflower seeds we get a lot of coal tit's. The most common after that would be blue tits then great tit's on the feeders. Get a few chaffinches most days and collared doves and the odd Robin and wren. We rarely get goldfinch.

    Should say we only started feeding this year so interested to see how year progresses.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,761 ✭✭✭Knine


    Was delighted to see a pair of Greenfinche's today. Had not seen any at my feeders in about 6 years. Dublin 15 area.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,764 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Busy day in the garden yesterday lot's of birbs, highlight was a Goldcrest.


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    inthehat wrote: »
    Anyone notice that thrushes have become scarce? We used to have them all the time, particularly in the early morning, catching snails. But the past couple of years I've seen hardly any.

    Pair of Song Thrushes have taken up winter residence in our garden, rarely see them during the Summer. Have Mistle Thrushes flying over regularly but not landing so I can't count them in the survey.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,603 ✭✭✭Birdnuts


    Noticed a big increase in wintering Blackbirds - nearly a dozen were feeding in a loose group together in a small field nest to my parents house in North Kildare


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,764 ✭✭✭Bsal


    Recorded 18 species this past week.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,761 ✭✭✭Knine


    I am getting plagues of Goldfinch. Hard to even do a count!


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    Birdnuts wrote: »
    Noticed a big increase in wintering Blackbirds - nearly a dozen were feeding in a loose group together in a small field nest to my parents house in North Kildare

    Same here in Wicklow - lots of new Blackbirds in the last two weeks, with a peak count of 8 at any one time.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    I'm on 21 species total so far - Starling was a nice surprise, briefly landing on a window feeder - have never had one here before! Woodpecker is obliging with daily visits, 2-4 Siskins each week, and Chaffinch numbers slowly building. Long-tailed Tits appeared in the treetops sone evenings, so must be roosting nearby, but only one has come down to the feeders.

    I have sunflower hearts and peanuts out the whole time, and made some fatballs this week that the Robins and Blue Tits are already availing of.


  • Registered Users Posts: 876 ✭✭✭bb12


    i leave out porridge oats only each day. north co dublin.
    have tons of sparrows, blue tit, great tit, coal tit, blackbirds, starlings
    a couple of robins, chaffinches, dunnocks, wrens, magpies
    there's often killings going on at the feeder and i have to watch for the pesky starlings...they can take over and bully all the others out.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 95 ✭✭sliabh beagh


    high numbers of all tits here in north monaghan. counted six coal tits on the feeder this morning. havent seen our resident sparrohawk since the suvey started. loads chaffinches and couple goldfinches but never seen a greenfinch. maybe they arent common this part of the country?


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,764 ✭✭✭Bsal


    I have a male Blackcap again this winter eating the tiny olives on the olive tree.


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    i haven't seen one greenfinch so far this winter, that virus they had must have decimated them :(


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,744 ✭✭✭appledrop


    fryup wrote: »
    i haven't seen one greenfinch so far this winter, that virus they had must have decimated them :(

    About 5 or 6 years ago I would have 12-15 greenfinches but then they disappeared. Last 2 years I have maybe 2 or 3 but never recovered must have been decimated.

    Switched to having plenty of goldfinches instead.

    Definitely a great season for Blue tit, Great tit and coal tit this spring must have suited them for breeding.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,744 ✭✭✭appledrop


    No surprise bird feeder is packed this morning with cold temperatures overnight!


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    don't forget about water


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    Corvid numbers for this week just got a big boost. A Sparrowhawk killed a Starling and it attracted 14 Magpies and 8 Hooded Crows!


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    Corvid numbers for this week just got a big boost. A Sparrowhawk killed a Starling and it attracted 14 Magpies and 8 Hooded Crows!

    18 Magpies in the tree at the bottom of the garden this time. This time it was a Buzzard upsetting them, a new record for the garden.


  • Registered Users Posts: 18,069 ✭✭✭✭fryup


    haven't seen any bullfinches so far this year, are their numbers in decline?


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  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators Posts: 3,067 Mod ✭✭✭✭OpenYourEyes


    fryup wrote: »
    haven't seen any bullfinches so far this year, are their numbers in decline?

    Their numbers are actually increasing quite substantially! I have a feeling that there was just a lot of food for them in the countryside this year. Mine were ever-present in autumn 2019, but it was well into the winter in 2020 before they returned to the garden!


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