A year of birds in the garden

A robin in the garden yesterday

One of the things N and I did quite early on last year was begin keeping a record of all the different birds that visited our garden and the one we look over from our lounge window.  I've been meaning to do an end-of-year total for a few days, but one or two other things have got in the way ;-)

Jackdaw on the shed roof

Anyway, here is the final list for 2013:

• blackbird
• bluetit
• black-headed gull
• blackcap
• common gull
• collared dove
• chaffinch
• dunnock
• great tit
• goldfinch
• greenfinch
• house sparrow
• heron
• jackdaw
• jay
• long-tailed tit
• lesser spotted woodpecker
• magpie
• pied wagtail
• pigeon (feral)
• robin
• rook
• starling
• song thrush
• swift
• sparrowhawk
• wren
• wood pigeon

A wood pigeon in the rain last week

That's a grand total of 28 different species for the year.  It's possible that we missed some others - we obviously didn't spend all our time staring out of the window! - but these are birds that both of us spotted and positively identified.

A starling in it's speckled plumage

We have really enjoyed taking time to sit quietly and watch the local bird life.  it has been interesting to see the fledglings grow into adults, note the changing plumage, and observe that the same birds visit the garden through the year - we've been able to spot individuals by their distinct and recognisable feather markings.  It's exciting to see a new species or to confirm identification from our now well-thumbed bird books.  It's unlikely we would have either had the time or taken the time to do this while we were still working, but we have found it very interesting and rewarding.  To me it is just a small example of the benefits of slowing down and being able to appreciate the simpler things in life.