50 down 5 to go!
It finally happened. I hit 50 species from the garden during lockdown, and it feels great!
The bird that took me over the line was rather unceremoniously a Great Black Backed Gull. They're not exactly my favourite bird but I celebrated it like it was! Helpfully, it came north over the house with 2 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. So there was no question mark over its size.
I can't quite believe I've hit 50 so quickly. Before lockdown my all-time garden list stood at just 54. I guess it shows I just wasn't looking hard enough, because now that I've put in the effort for a few weeks, I'm approaching it fast.
The next and biggest target is to beat this total - 55 would be incredible. They're getting harder now no doubt, but Swift will eventually be a given, and Red Kite and Hobby certainly renewed my faith in surprises.
Garden listing is very much a personal endeavour. It's based on personal targets, and while you can encourage and discuss with others, there's no method of direct comparison.
Some gardens are better than others - at least, I'd like to think that it isn't simply that other Leicestershire birders on 70+ just have immensely better fieldwork skills! That's why reaching 55 would be such a significant achievement. It would be proof of the work that I've put into birding from the house over the last few weeks.
On an exercise walk yesterday, I heard my first Garden Warbler of the year, taking my overall lockdown list to 67.
Aside from the birds, recent nocturnal highlights have been the first sighting of a Hedgehog in the garden this spring. And also the Starlink satellites. While I didn't see the 'chain' I was hoping for, they were certainly a strange sight. And seeing these were nicely combined with watching the Lyrid Meteor Shower this week.
The bird that took me over the line was rather unceremoniously a Great Black Backed Gull. They're not exactly my favourite bird but I celebrated it like it was! Helpfully, it came north over the house with 2 Lesser Black Backed Gulls. So there was no question mark over its size.
I can't quite believe I've hit 50 so quickly. Before lockdown my all-time garden list stood at just 54. I guess it shows I just wasn't looking hard enough, because now that I've put in the effort for a few weeks, I'm approaching it fast.
The next and biggest target is to beat this total - 55 would be incredible. They're getting harder now no doubt, but Swift will eventually be a given, and Red Kite and Hobby certainly renewed my faith in surprises.
Garden listing is very much a personal endeavour. It's based on personal targets, and while you can encourage and discuss with others, there's no method of direct comparison.
Some gardens are better than others - at least, I'd like to think that it isn't simply that other Leicestershire birders on 70+ just have immensely better fieldwork skills! That's why reaching 55 would be such a significant achievement. It would be proof of the work that I've put into birding from the house over the last few weeks.
On an exercise walk yesterday, I heard my first Garden Warbler of the year, taking my overall lockdown list to 67.
Aside from the birds, recent nocturnal highlights have been the first sighting of a Hedgehog in the garden this spring. And also the Starlink satellites. While I didn't see the 'chain' I was hoping for, they were certainly a strange sight. And seeing these were nicely combined with watching the Lyrid Meteor Shower this week.
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