Back to .... Homepage MY GARDEN Here is a photo of the back garden of my home in Bridge Road Emsworth, Hampshire, taken in December 2005. We moved to this bungalow in May 1997 after spending about 30 years in an old Edwardian house on the outskirts of Emsworth. The present garden is considerably smaller than my previous one and has fewer species of bird visiting it. However, we are lucky in having a fairly open aspect despite being in the centre of town. The general aspect of the garden is open, even though it is near the centre of town. The gasholder shows in the background. The tree on the right is a flowering cherry from which I hang seedholders with sunflower hearts. I occasionally hang a peanut holder and a fat ball and apples in winter. On the bird table I put mixed seed and chopped nuts along with bits of soaked bread. I throw mixed seeds and chopped nuts on the ground. I have two bird baths, one low one in the centre back and the other out of sight on the left.    I can see the whole garden from the house and watch regularly at various times during the day. At the end of the garden at the other side of the brick wall is a small stream (Westbrook Stream), which runs down to Emsworth Millpond. Unlike in my previous garden, squirrels are not a problem. But cats are a problem and I occasionally see them catching birds. I have invested in a Catwatch (November 2008) to scare off cats but am not sure if it is working!   MY GARDEN BIRDS 1998-2008 Here are my garden bird records for 11 Bridge Road, Emsworth from Jan 1998 to Dec 2008 which were entered in the BTO Garden Birdwatch Scheme. From 1991-1997 I kept similar records of garden birds from my home in Westbourne Avenue, Emsworth - an Edwardian house with a large garden on the outskirts of Emsworth, Hampshire, UK. The Bridge Road house is a 1950s chalet-type bungalow, close to the centre of Emsworth with a much smaller garden. I have taken part in both BTO garden bird record schemes: Garden Birdwatch (GBW) scheme since its inception in 1995 and Garden Bird Feeding Survey (GBFS) from 1992-97. I put food and water out for the birds all year round. Weekly records are kept of the maximum number of birds of each species seen at any one time in the back garden. Only birds that actually use the garden or hunt over the garden (e.g, Swifts) are counted. I have seen many others from the garden or flying over the garden which are not counted. The total number of species recorded in the garden stands at 40. The table shows the records in rank order of the number of weeks each species has been recorded in the garden for a total of 595 weeks up to the end of 2008. The final column shows the maximum number of birds of each species recorded at any one time over the whole period. At the end of 2007 the table was led by Greenfinch with a 100% record, but sadly 2008 has seen their numbers plumett, due to disease and Collard Dove heads the field at the end of 2008. The bird which has shown the most dramatic increase over the last year of so is the Goldfinch, attracted initially by niger seed, but now feeding almost exclusively on sunflower hearts. Woodpigeons are also on the increase and are now daily visitors . I am also getting more sightings of Little Egret and Kingfisher, which are seen perching on the end wall of the garden which overlooks a small stream. Rare visitors include a Turtle Dove which was a daily visitor for a couple of weeks in June and July 2005, but which has not been seen since. Four birds were added to the list in 2008, Jackdaw, Mistle Thrush, Pheasant and White Dove (domestic). See below for more details. RANK 1998-2008 Weeks Present % Weeks present Maximum recorded 1 Collared Dove 593 99.7 46 2 Greenfinch 581 97.6 54 3 House Sparrow 563 94.6 58 4 Backbird 550 92.4 8 5 Starling 539 90.6 100 6 Chaffinch 515 86.6 28 7 Blue Tit 482 81.0 6 8 Robin 394 66.2 2 9 Dunnock 381 64.0 3 10 Woodpigeon 309 51.9 7 11 Goldfinch 281 47.2 24 12 Great Tit 236 39.7 8 13 Magpie 159 26.7 4 14 Swift 157 26.4 60 15 Wren 136 22.9 2 16 Song Thrush 133 22.4 2 17 Little Egret 53 8.9 2 18 Long-tailed Tit 34 5.7 14 19 Coal Tit 21 3.5 1 20 Sparrowhawk 20 3.4 1 21 Blackcap 19 3.2 2 22 Chiffchaff 17 2.9 3 23 Carrion Crow 13 2.2 2 24 Goldcrest 13 2.2 1 25 Grey Wagtail 8 1.3 1 26 Siskin 6 1.0 3 27 Kingfisher 5 0.8 1 27 Pied Wagtail 5 0.8 1 27 Willow Warbler 5 0.8 2 30 Yellowhammer 4 0.7 2 31 Bullfinch 3 0.5 1 31 Gt Spot Woodpecker 3 0.5 1 31 Jackdaw 3 0.5 2 34 Feral Pigeon 2 0.3 1 34 Pheasant 2 0.3 1 34 Turtle Dove 2 0.3 1 34 White Dove (domestic) 2 0.3 3 38 Black-headed Gull 1 0.2 1 38 Cuckoo 1 0.2 1 38 Mallard 1 0.2 2 38 Mistle Thrush 1 0.2 1 GARDEN BIRD RECORDS 1998 - 2008 The following charts present the results of garden birds counts for selected species in my garden for the 10 year period 1998 to 2008. Some charts give the mean weekly counts averaged out over the whole year, other charts give the percentage of weeks the bird was recorded in the garden over the year. Somes bird have increased in frequency, others have declined the majority have showed little obvious change. HOUSE SPARROW House Sparrow numbers have been declining fairly steadily in the garden for the past 10 years, much in line with the general decline in their numbers as recorded in BTO surveys. The mean weekly count in 1998 was 15.4 from where it fell to 6.7 in 2002. There was a recovery to 10.4 in 2005, but since then numbers have plumetted down to 2.0 in 2008. At this rate of decline there will be no House Sparrows at all in my garden next year. STARLING Starling numbers in the garden have also fallen steadily over the years, from a high of 27.5 in 2002 down to an all-time low of 7.9 in 2007. There was a slight recovery in 2008 to 10.4, though we should not become too excited by this figure which may be enhanced by the occasional large flock. For example, as shown in the second chart below Starling experienced it lowest ever percentage of weeks present in the garde. I often see large flocks of Starlings flying around, though they rarely come down onto the garden. GREENFINCH Greenfinch was always the most regular bird in the garden with a 100% presence until 2007 when numbers started to decline dramatically, a decline that continued into 2008. This fall can probably be explained as due to the prevalence of the trichomoniasis disease in Greenfinches, many examples of which I witnessed in my garden. GOLDFINCH Goldfinch has shown a quite staggering increase in my garden over this period. The big change dated back to 2004 when I first put a Niger Seed holder in the garden. They took a little while to discover it, but once they did they were fairly regular visitors. Interestingly, now they have switched their preference to the presumably more nutritious sunflower heart. Interestingly, Goldfinches now largely ignore niger seeds in preference to the succulent sunflowers hearts. Goldfinch numbers have dropped significantly in 2008 in comparison to the two previous years, probably as a result of the absence of Greenfinch which they often used to come with. COLLARED DOVE AND WOOD PIGEON Collared Dove and Woodpigeon numbers have continued their steady rise over the 10 years period, with the latter now having a 100% weekly presence over the year, compared with only 12% in 1997.   LITTLE EGRET Little Egret is probably my most unusual and fairly regular garden visitor. I am only about half a mile from Emsworth Harbour and in winter a single bird (probably the same one each time) perches on the fence at the end of the garden to survey the Westbrook Stream which runs along the back of the garden. As the chart shows the Egret is an increasingly common visitor, having been recorded in 25 of the 52 weeks in 2008.     SONG THRUSH Song Thrush is not a regular visitor to the garden, but it presence did rise to 52% in 2005. However, it dropped dramatically the following year and is now showing some signs of recovery.   CHAFFINCH Chaffinch is a regular garden visitor with an over 80% presence over the years. Numbers have fluctuated. GARDEN HIGHLIGHTS STOCK DOVE - Friday 1 May 2009 I was surprised to see a Stock Dove in the garden at about 7pm this evening. The light was not good, but I took a few photos. This is only the second time I have ever seen a Stock Dove in the garden, the first being earlier this year on 19-Jan-09. I think it comes over from St James Churchyard where I often see and hear one. The church is only about 200 yards or so away "as the crow flies". GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER - SUNDAY 3 AUGUST 2008 Jean and I had a very nice surprise as we were sitting having a cup of coffee in our back room overlooking the garden when a male Great Spotted Woodpecker appeared on the flowering cherry tree. It remained in the garden for about 10 minutes allowing me plenty of time to take some photos through the window. It spent most of the time pecking the trunk of the tree, presumably after insects and occasionally perching, rather ungainly, on one of the sunflower seedholders hangin from the branches of the tree. It would no doubt have preferred a peanut holder, but I have long since removed them from the garden, as they were not used by the birds. This was only the second time I have seen a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the garden of my present house in Bridge Road, though they were regular visitors to the garden of my previous house in Westbourne Avenue. The last sighting was on 22 November 2005.   PHEASANT - SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2008 A handsome male Pheasant was in my back garden for most of the morning. This was the first ever sighting of one in the garden. I first saw it at about 10am perched on the wall at the end of the garden. Later it plucked up courage to come down onto the grass to feed on the seeds where it remained for the next 3 hours! Amazing to think it turned up in the middle of town.   BULLFINCH - THURSDAY 10 JULY 2008 As I was having my lunch I happened to look out of the window and, to my astonishment, saw a handsome male Bullfinch on the sunflower heart feeder. It stayed long enough for me to get out my camera and get a few snaps through the window before it disappeared, not to return. This was only the second Bullfinch sighting I have had in the garden, the last one being almost 10 years ago, on 1 January 1999 when I saw a male taking the buds from a forsythia bush at the bottom of the garden.   OTHER GARDEN WILDLIFE OF INTEREST                      SPARROWHAWK - 31 July 2005 We had a most exciting event in the garden this morning. At about 11am a Sparrowhawk swooped in, took a House Sparrow from the bird table and spent the next 40 minutes or so on the ground with the Sparrow trapped under its talons. First, the Sparrowhawk plucked all the feathers off its victim and then proceeded to tear off pieces of flesh and consume them. Only the beak were plucked off the Sparrow, then the Sparrowhawk tore off pieces of flesh and bone to consume them. Finally, the Sparrowhawk used some of the feathers as a napkin, to clean off its beak. Nothing was left on the ground but for the House Sparrow's beak and a pile of feathers. All very smart and efficient. Although I have seen a Sparrowhawk in the garden on several other occasions, this was the first time I have seen it actually take a bird and consume it before my eyes. I was able to take a number of photographs and videos of the whole event through the garden window. From its barred dark brown upperparts and relatively small size I assume this was a juvenile male Sparrowhawk.    SWIFTS - FRIDAY 15 JULY 2005 It was a very warm evening and I have just spent the last 30 minutes or so in my back garden watching the Swifts flying in the sky, a magnificient spectacle. Mainly, they tend to feed high in the sky, sweeping and twisting to catch insects. However, occasionally they come together in small or large groups up to 40 and sweep screaming through the air in tight formations. This, I gather, is all to do with social bonding, but I would call it sheer fun and enjoyment.   TURTLE DOVE - THURSDAY 30 JUNE 2005 I was amazed to find a Turtle Dove feeding with the regular half dozen or so Collared Doves on the lawn in my back garden at about 8am this morning. This is a lifetime garden first for me. Fortunately, the bird stayed around for another 5 minutes or so after the Collareds had flown giving me time to get my camera out for a few snaps and a video, albeit through the window. I saw it again at about 11am, this time on its own. It returned this evening at about 7pm and stayed feeding on the grass for about 45 minutes. How exciting! The Turtle Dove returned to the garden to feed on seeds which I scatter onto the grass for the following 4 days after which I did not see it again.   BIRDS GALORE - THURSDAY 7 APRIL 2005 The garden is full of birds pretty well constantly all day. Never recall anything quite like this. Up to 12 House Sparrows are always here plus a few Chaffinch and Greenfinch. The Song Thrush is a regular visitor, collecting beak fulls of worms, presumably to feed its young in the nest somewhere close by. The Blackbird has been coming to the nest in the Ivy with beak fulls of grass and moss. But I think the Blue Tit has abandoned the nest boxes. Not seen for a few days.     KINGFISHER - MONDAY 14 MARCH 2005 Great excitement this morning as a Kingfisher perched on the end wall overlooking the Westbrook Stream for fully 30 seconds. Not enough time to get the camera set up, but a fine sight and a first for the garden. The Kingfisher returned again on Thursday March 18. A Kingfisher on the back wall overlooking the stream became more common over the next few years.