BGBW

The RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch took place last weekend.  I duly spent my timed hour on Sunday morning looking at the back garden and had a few pleasant surprises and a few regular absentees, which seems par for the course with this event.  I managed 15 species, of which a female Bullfinch was new for the garden year list - never a regular visitor.  Another scarcity appeared in the oak tree in the form of a Stock Dove.  4 Lesser Redpolls alighted in the birch briefly before departing, being my first birds since January 1st.  Lastly, 2 Bramblings, a male and a female, were not unexpected - numbers of this species have been very low this year, even though the Chaffinch flock numbers about 40 on some days.

Later in the day, a male Blackcap made a brief appearance in the lilac before flying next door - thereby missing the BGBW totals!