Big Garden Bird Watch

Probably the best thing we inherited from my Dad was a birdbath. It’s not a particularly elegant bird bath, it’s not beautiful, and it has a crack in it, but it has given us no end of pleasure. We put it over by the hedge, opposite our kitchen window, and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the birds that come there to drink and bathe. Hubby and I have never been birdwatchers, as such, but we are totally enchanted watching the birds eating the seeds we put in the birdfeeders, followed by a quick wash and brush up in the birdbath afterwards. The dozens of sparrows, fighting to get in the water and splashing around like a bunch of toddlers in a paddling pool, really make us laugh. And the noise they make…….. well, it could be a three-year-old’s birthday party!

This weekend it’s the RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch 2012 and, for the first time, I’ve just registered to take part and downloaded and printed out my score sheet. It’ll only take an hour either on Saturday or Sunday, and all I have to do is look out of the window and see how many birds of different species there are. It should be very interesting, and I bet I’ll be amazed at the results.

If you want to take part, you can log on to www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. Last year, apparently, starlings came first in Cornwall, with an average of 6.128 birds at any one time in 63% of gardens. This was followed by sparrows and then chaffinches. I wonder what the results will be this year.