3rd January
It’s not the only reason I get out of bed first in the morning but observing which is the first bird to the bird feeder each day is now something of a routine.
Today it was a blue tit. In fact, it’s often a blue tit. Sometimes a great tit, but usually a blue tit.
This doesn’t mean that the blue tit is best, of course, but it is certainly reflective of the number of blue tits around!
A statistic backed up by the results of the 2022 RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.
(a pause to allow readers to guess the top ten birds seen in UK gardens)
10 : Chaffinch
9: Magpie
8: Great Tit (thought that would be higher!)
7 : Goldfinch
6 : Robin
5 : Blackbird
4 : Woodpigeon
3 : Starling
2 : Blue Tit
and …
1 : House Sparrow
No real surprises there. But it is humbling to note that these are ten birds that we see every single day at Nutsford House - the only two that could be question marks are the chaffinch (though they have started coming regularly now to the feeders) and the starling (though, if you are looking out of the window in the late afternoon, you will see a flock passing through on their way to roost).
So, life at Nutsford House is full of birds. Very different for me compared to the first two houses I owned where, in thirteen years, I could probably count the number of birds that visited my gardens on the fingers of two hands!
And, with the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch upcoming on January 27th - 29th, we shall see what the Nutsford House Top Ten are for the first time and how they compare to the national Top Ten. I shall publish results here!
But, for now, a reminder that first is not always best. First the worst, second the best - I am always first out of bed, as I said.
Happy New Year from the edge of Exmoor! Hope you see lots of birds in 2023!
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