This is Billy - affectionately known in this house as Billy No-Mates - the solitary pheasant that has adopted us and keeps tapping on the door for attention. He has gone down on my list for the count we've done today towards the RSPB's Great Garden Birdwatch this year. It's been all over the news so I hope some of you have already logged on and recorded your count. It only requires us to count the maximum number of each species that we see in any one hour over this weekend so there will be time to have a go tomorrow too.
Billy is around for most of the day at the moment and I go out and feed him extra titbits. If he acts true to form he'll soon disappear off to find a mate. In the past his forefathers have done this to us and then descended on us with lots of girls in tow before disappearing until the next winter. It can cost a fortune in bird food but I don't worry about that as I love looking out of my windows and seeing dozens of birds here at any one time. He even has the temerity to tap on the back door in a sort of 'come on, I'm hungry' fashion. Ever felt manipulated?With a large garden surrounded by fields we are lucky to see a wide variety of species but our count has already highlighted change from last year. Yellowhammer numbers are up which is great news. So too are the numbers of woodpeckers and nuthatches, but, on the downside there are no sparrows about today and it is ages since I've seen a dunnock or a greenfinch - although I recorded one greenfinch today and managed to photograph him too. When we first moved here over ten years ago they were common. Now they are a rarity despite putting out niger seed to attract them to the feeders.
Ten years is not a massive amount of time and when change occurs on your own turf within that time it highlights the value of keeping a record. It doesn't matter whether you see a thousand birds or just a few, all data is important so I hope some of you have a go. Have a great weekend all.
Ten years is not a massive amount of time and when change occurs on your own turf within that time it highlights the value of keeping a record. It doesn't matter whether you see a thousand birds or just a few, all data is important so I hope some of you have a go. Have a great weekend all.
10 comments:
Superb photographs and superb report on your beautiful visitors!!!
Thank you!
Stunning photos Lesley. I particularly like the penultimate one and notice the patterning of the pheasant's feathers - isn't Nature wonderful? I wish I could recognise and name the species as then I would join in the RSPB's recording - we get a lot of different birds here but I don't recognise them all sadly.
What a fabulous thing to do and I love the idea of your visitor pecking on the door for treats! I think my knowledge of different bird species would let me down if I attempted to record those that came into the garden. We do regularly get a woodpecker though.
Fabulous photos Lesley. Wish I had a camera with that sort of zoom...
I sat here thinking how lucky you are to have Billy No Mates on your doorstep. Great to see the goldfinches, we have a flock that comes regularly, as it did last year. Unfortunately, we also had a single, solitary goldfinch who used to come at different times from the others and we haven't seen him so far this time round! We rarely see a sparrow however.
Great photos Lesley, love the nut hatch. I'm most pleased with the gang of house sparrows we have cultivated who eat us out of house and home - when I first submitted my BTO weekly bird counts four years ago they were an unusual sight. Greenfinches have been struck by disease in the past couple of years and they are a rare sight here. We did have a poorly looking one in November. The robin is our big bully and chases off the dunnocks if they pop out of the shrubs. But I was pleased to be able to add redwings to my weekend tally.
Clever Billy, he knows where to go for the best food! Lovely photos. I've finally given up and thrown away my niger bird feeder - it has been ignored for 2 years, despite me regularly replacing the old niger seed with fresh. They just weren't interested. Oh well.
We don't have many sparrows either, such a shame. Even our previously plentiful starlings and a less frequent visitor. Our most regular diners are crows and blue tits.
xx
Amazing and beautiful photos, you clever thing. Not many birdies in our garden, it seems, but I may just not be looking very carefully.
Lovely photos - Billy No Mates is a handsome fellow.
Aren't pheasants just beautiful! Your photos are too.
It's good to stop and pay attention in this way - we all learn so much from the records you keep, and just being aware of who visits you is a nice thing to know. You must have a lovely and welcoming garden and I love your new single fella!
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