Each year we join in with the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch. This year was no exception and we enjoyed taking part.
Saturday was very wet and windy so we decided, as the recipe came with the pack we received, to make the Bird watch Bites to eat with coffee whilst sitting for an hour counting birds today.
They were quite easy to make once all the ingredients were assembled. I used dried cranberries instead of raisins and desiccated coconut instead of flakes as they were in the cupboard.
They came out quite well the photo above is of the first batch.
They soon cooled down enough to try one with morning coffee
The ingredients made fifteen in all so plenty for the next day or two.
We sat down around eleven o'clock today and saw quite a few birds but not as many as usual because of the rain and wind. No sign of the group of goldfinches which usually visit our feeders nor as many sparrows as usual.
Paul managed a few photos whilst I was busy in the kitchen baking cakes for my next door neighbour for an afternoon tea following a funeral tomorrow.
Robin
Male Blackbird
Dunnock
Then we started the count
In our chosen hour we saw:-
3 Blackbirds
1 Blue Tit
1 Chaffinch
1 Dunnock
8 House Sparrows
3 Robins
13 Starlings
also 1 Wren and 1 Goldcrest which weren't on the main list but could be recorded elsewhere.
Where were the wood pigeons, goldfinches and magpies that we usually see? Perhaps they were on a day's outing somewhere!
Did you do the bird count? How did you get on and what did you see?
3 Blackbirds
1 Blue Tit
1 Chaffinch
1 Dunnock
8 House Sparrows
3 Robins
13 Starlings
also 1 Wren and 1 Goldcrest which weren't on the main list but could be recorded elsewhere.
Where were the wood pigeons, goldfinches and magpies that we usually see? Perhaps they were on a day's outing somewhere!
Did you do the bird count? How did you get on and what did you see?
Well done, great photos and a good selection of birds. Did you get more than last year? Your cookies look delicious. 😊
ReplyDeleteI've just looked back at last year's blog post and it seems that we had fewer birds than last year by about ten. The little cookies were lovely and the apple in them made them soft and chewey:)
DeleteBet those cookies went down well. Same here with the weather. Definitely less birds today although I could hear them twittering in the holly tree. No magpies or goldfinches although we did have Gulls and pigeons. Have a great week. B x
ReplyDeleteYesterday the first birds we saw were pigeons and magpies and this morning goldfinches returned - they obviously don't like being counted! The cookies were delicious and we still have some left:)
DeleteThose pesky birds know all about the Garden Bird Watch and go elsewhere for the day; my brother, who spends a fortune on feeding the birds, finds the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if they all gather in the local park or somewhere quiet until the count is over> You are right it is just as if they know:)
DeleteThe nibbles look good! It's always the way isn't it?! Those regular visitors just stay away at the wrong time. I haven't joined in this year, being so busy at the house, but I will look forward to doing this in my very own garden next time!
ReplyDeleteIt will be lovely to see what birds visit in your own garden and if they are different to where you are now:)
DeleteSuch a shame they seem to have gone on an outing, like John said they know all about the Garden Watch.
ReplyDeleteAll the usual visitors have returned over the last few days, the first birds we saw yesterday morning were all those we missed during the count:)
DeleteThose little biscuits look tasty! I had to make do with a few bought chocolate biscuits!! Know the feeling about birds you usually see going AWOL during the Birdwatch hour! Managed 10 species here - did it yesterday when it was dry but our garden faces South and as the sun was out it made it difficult to get photos and at times to watch!
ReplyDeleteYes, the biscuits were very tasty and the apple in them made them soft and chewy - they are very filling though, more like little cakes. Lovely to have a south facing garden, the side of our house is south facing, the back faces east and the front faces west. It was difficult to take photos through the glass, the usual visitors are back now:)
DeleteI love your British robin!!!!! So much prettier than our American robin. Yours is tiny and pert and cute. Ours is not. :-)
ReplyDeleteMmmmm, those 'bites' sound delicious.
The bites are full of oats,coconut,sunflower seeds,cranberries and apple - delicious but quite filling. The robins are certainly cute we have a pair visit us and then also a lone one legged robin who is usually first at the feeders every morning:)
DeleteI already like a place that sends a recipe with the invitation and the cookies look wonderful. The birds are not bad, either :-)
ReplyDeleteAmalia
xo
This year's recipe was nicer than last years and I enjoyed makking them. Glad you enjoyed the birds, some of the more colourful and unusual birds stayed away this year:)
DeleteI like the sound of the bird watch bites! I didn't join in with the watch but usually I have blackbirds in the garden as they nest in a tree in the back garden and eat berries from the pyracantha in the front! I think you saw a good selection of birds in the hour. I wonder how many other types of birds you would see if you stayed out all day?!!! x
ReplyDeleteOh, the blackbirds would love those pyracantha berries. We had loads of differrent birds this morning including both pigeons and rock doves each vying for food - the rock doves won:)
DeleteThe cookies look great lovely photos of the birds.
ReplyDeleteAmanda xx
Thanks, Amanda - yes the bites were very tasty:)
DeleteWe did, and like you our numbers were down due to the weather - which is a shame as it will skew the results :( however on the bright side - those buns are rather yummy and their official name of 'Birdwatch bites' has morphed into 'bird bums' in our house .... I thought that when the boys grew up they would 'grow up' but they are still kids at heart!
ReplyDeleteHa,Ha - what a great name for the bites! Even at our advanced age we still have 'silly' names for things - I don't think you ever grow out of it. It wasn't great weather for the count was it, we see more birds when it is snowy or cold and frosty than in this warm, wet weather:)
DeleteWell done, though you sound disappointed with your numbers. I do wish we had something like it here. I think Kate made those same biscuits, too. Take care.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan. Yes, Kate did make the same biscuits. We were slightly disappointed with the bird numbers which were less than last year, I think it was due to the weather:)
DeleteThere's always those birds that seem to disappear when it's the bird count, almost like they know! The biscuits look yummy, something to try there I think!
ReplyDeleteThank you Pam, it does always seem to be the case with the bird count, I'm sure they are just over the hedge waiting for us to go out so they don't get counted:)
DeleteI think that is a very repectable total for an hour, given the weather conditions. All that we see around at the moment are starlings and pigeons - I think that all sensible birds migrated south to avoid winter. Marie x
ReplyDeleteYes, it wasn't a bad haul we usually sit down with coffee sometime between 10 and 11 a.m. and watch the birds as they sem to quite active then:)
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