Lockdown Garden Birdwatch
#LockdownGardenBirdwatch
Become a Lockdown Garden Birdwatch Champ!
Are you keen on bird watching? If so, I would love you to share your patch, your feeders and your birds with me! I am sharing your pics and stories on this section of my website, showcasing what YOU are doing for birds in your patch!
Whether you are a seasoned bird watcher, or just starting out, I would love to hear from you!
I am particularly keen on getting young people involved and will be sending out Birdwatch Champ certificates to any young person who takes part... there may even be some prizes for the best entries! A perfect school or home learning task!
All you need to do is to send me some information and some photos about how you are helping the birds in your local patch. It could be your garden, on a window feeder, in your school or local space. If you have some videos, that would be brill too! You can present it in any way you wish! Just email your information to me or send your text, images and videos via WeTransfer. You can also share via my AlfrescoWild FB group... whichever method works best for you!
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Lockdown Birdwatch Champs Blog
Click on each contributor, to go to their post
Cameron Watt
Izzy Fry
Graham Davies
Oliver Jearum Boyce
Cameron Watt
"My family has always loved wildlife and always loved birds so this is what we do to help the birds in our garden. "
Age 9
Cameron Watt
REFILLING THE BIRD FEEDERS
This evening I refilled the bird feeders. The first feeder I refilled was the green tube, I later found that it was clogged! I put sunflower seeds in it. Then I refilled the feeder that’s hardest to reach; the Birdsy feeder with mealworms! I put some mixed seed and peanuts on the bird table. Those are for the Wood Pigeons and Squirrels. If I don’t put these seeds and nuts out the pigeons and the squirrels will eat the food from the other feeders, making other birds go hungry. Finally I sprinkle mixed seed all over the top half of the garden (I don’t want the Robins, Blackbirds and Dunnocks going hungry do I)?
THE BIRDSY CAMERA
You might have heard me mention a Birdsy feeder in the first paragraph it’s actually a camera! The Birdsy camera is a good way to shoot videos of birds whether it’s them flying or feeding it’s an amazing way to video these amazing creatures!
MANTAINING FEEDERS
This paragraph is about maintaining feeders. To attract more birds you need to maintain feeders because if you don’t maintain your feeders the birds in your area may starve especially in the winter months. Cleaning your
feeders also reduces diseases. In the first paragraph I mentioned a clogged feeder if I didn’t do anything about it, it would mean there was one feeder not working. At the bottom of the feeder there was some soggy seeds. So when you look at it, it looks full but nothing can come out!
We soaked the feeder in warm soapy water, removed the blockage and left it to dry over night before re filling the next morning.
" It's great to see you out and about, filling and cleaning your feeders, Cameron! Some lovely clips from you camera too. Your bird ID will improve all the time as you get up close and personal with your garden visitors!" WildlifeKate
Cameron Watt
"My family has always loved wildlife and always loved birds so this is what we do to help the birds in our garden. "
Age 9
Cameron Watt
RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Today we did an hour of birdwatching for the Big Garden Birdwatch. My cats were doing the same only Milly went outside and stood in the middle of the lawn! After we got her back in a Grey Squirrel went on the ground. We know Milly wanted to eat it by the look on her face.
We saw:
1 Coal Tit
16 Gold Finches
10 Blue Tits
10 Black Birds
24 Wood Pigeons
5 Robins
4 Wrens
2 Dunnocks
2 Magpies
4 Starlings
1 Collared Dove
1 Great Tit
4 Black-headed Gulls
MY FAVOURTE BIRD
My favourite birds are Robins. They are my favourite birds because they are very friendly, calm and talkative. They are also positively cute. In my opinion these are the perfect birds to make friends with.
FACTS ABOUT MY FAVOURITE
(All these facts are from British birds a pocket guide)
Scientific name : Erithacus rubecula
Length : 12.5 - 14 cm
Eats : insects, other invertebrates, seeds and berries
This bird has a striking orange face and chest and a warm brown colour on top. This colour is across both sexes. They also have a beady, black eye. Its typical call is a “tik” sound.
" That's a great set of birds for your Big Garden Birdwatch! I think the robin is a lot of people's favourites. I love how they follow me around the garden!" WildlifeKate
Izzy Fry
'I first found my love of nature, wildlife and photography after an amazing trip to Skomer Island to see the puffins. Ever since then my passion has blossomed!'
Age 15
Izzy Fry
I am a trainee bird ringer, contributing to the ringing scheme held by the BTO. For the last few months, I have been getting up early on my weekends to go out ringing at various nature reserves as well as in my own garden and on my family’s farm! I am aiming to become a certified ringer on the next couple of years!
As well as photography, I am very interested in journalism. I have written articles and features for various places including my local wildlife trust, A focus on nature, the RSPB, Butterfly Conservation and Plantlife.
In the future, I hope to study wildlife conservation and zoology at uni and have a career in something to do with protecting wildlife!
My aim is to encourage a love for nature in others and help protect and conserve the beautiful nature around us.
Winter can be a brilliant time of year to get close up views of birds visiting the garden for food, water and shelter. It is also an exciting opportunity to see some species which are only here for the colder months, such as Fieldfares and Bramblings. I have been taking a lot of photos of my garden birds lately - here are some of my favourites!
" I was about your age when I really started to get keen on photography, but your shots are way better than mine at 15! A wonderful way to document your visitors and really be able to appreciate their beauty. A wonderful set!" WildlifeKate
Graham Davies
'I am in Ireland are still on full lockdown so no visitors to your homes but I invited my friends over for Sunflower Tea and Peanut Nibbles'
Graham Davies
" I LOVE creative projects like this! I would say that is a perfect tea party in any garden! WildlifeKate
Oliver Jearum Boyce
Keen young naturalist, who loves a practical project.
Age 10
Oliver Jearum Boyce
Oliver undertook WildlifeKate's Alfresco challenge to make a bird feeder. He used items around the house, including wooden spoon and even castanets to create this bird feeding station!
His mum explained, 'Oliver loved it and learnt so many skills doing it. Such a lovely task to do and we all got to join in as a family which was sooo nice.'
" I love this creative bird feeder, made from items you had at home!I can't wait to hear what the birds thought!" WildlifeKate