The RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch has become an annual event in the family and it is interesting to compare over the years.

So this year, 09.15-10.15 this morning recorded 20 species, the most on the lane at one sitting for a while. Like 2013 and unlike 2014 there was snow on the ground.

2015 2014 2013
starling 8 1 7
house sparrow 6 6 6
blackbird 4 3 3
long tailed tit 3
wood pigeon 2 3 2
magpie 2 2 1
carrion crow 2 1 4
chaffinch 2
goldfinch 1 6 4
greenfinch 1 5 5
great tit 1 2 3
robin 1 1 1
blue tit 1 1 1
dunnock 1 1 3
wren 1 1
pied wagtail 1
gt sp woodpecker 1
redwing 1
coal tit 1
common gull 4

New species for the birdwatch list (though not for the lane) are pied wagtail, redwing, long tailed tit, the great spotted woodpecker and, interestingly, the chaffinch. Strange that's not been seen before.

The thrushes tend to visit more in snow, probably hence the redwing. Not sorry to see the gulls move on.

Good to see the starlings back, but 10 years ago there would have been about 70 of them.