Irish garden bird survey

Discrete post to update the Irish bird survey which runs for 13 weeks from December and finished last week. It's not as intensive as you think as you simply note the maximum number of each species observed in the garden in each week.  I usually give it a 30 minute blast early in the week and then every time I am in range I have a look to see if I can add a new bird or update a total. The main differences from last year were as follows:

1. Goldfinch numbers were well down, this year I never had more than 4
2. Linnets vanished after the first two weeks. Last year they were there every week. 
3. Bullfinch, siskin, redpoll and bullfinch were completely absent.
4. I had a song thrush in and out this year. 
5. Two hooded crows were regular visitors.
6. Five house sparrows dropped in once. 
7. Certainly 3 blackcaps - a male and 2 females on one occasion. 

The regular visitors (maximum in brackets) were as follows - Blackbird (9), magpie (2), woodpigeon (5), starlings (8), chaffinch (4), dunnock (3), robin (2), jackdaws (5), rooks (2). I also had all four tit species, a jay, a sparrowhawk, a redwing, a fieldfare, a wren, a goldcrest and one morning walked in and saw a heron standing by the pond looking for frogs no doubt.

I actually quite like doing this exercise as there is always something to look for when you glance down the garden or sit with a coffee to see what is happening.  I have attached a few pictures to brighten the blog up, some old and some new. This week we returned form England to a sea of yellow as the daffodils and tete-e-tete are all in bloom and we still have crocuses and snowdrops. 

Camelia

Past their best snowdrops

Crocuses and tete-a-tete

Tete-a-tete crocuses and daffodils

"Christmas" rhododendron

Blackbird and crocus

Blackcap

Goldfinch

Song thrush

Hooded crow

Chaffinch

Dunnock