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The survey was intended to give a 'snapshot' of the birds to
be seen in our gardens over the course of a year. Participants
were asked to either 'tick off' birds seen or, better still,
enter the maximum count of birds seen during a one week period
each month throughout the year.
It was appreciated that one garden can differ dramatically from
another, even one close by. It was also recognised that weather
conditions could also play a part as many birds seem to avoid
some gardens in poor weather while favouring another. The weather
factor can, of course, vary considerably from year to year,
influencing the type and amount of food available, the success
or failure of breeding, etc. Nevertheless, it was hoped that
we would still obtain a fairly reasonable picture of the birds
to be seen in our gardens throughout the district over the year
2009.
Disappointingly, the number of participants fell well short
of what we had hoped. We accept some responsibility for this
in that we did not advertise sufficiently and failed to regularly
remind the membership at our meetings! The low number of returns
does mean that the end results may not be particularly accurate.
Charting the actual maximum counts proved to be next to impossible
with our resources. A general picture was therefore adopted.
This was done by taking the number of 'reporting days' and whether
a particular bird was seen or not and converting this to a percentage
value. For example, if 6 gardens each reported sightings over
7 days, 6 x 7 = 42 reporting days. If a particular bird is seen
in, say, 3 gardens on each of the seven days, this gives a total
of 21 sighting days. Taking 21/42 gives 50%. This would thus
imply that, in general, you would find a 50% chance of seeing
that bird over a seven day period within the district. In other
words, this principle should give a fair indication as to how
common a bird is over the area in general.
The area covered by participants has varied tremendously from
month to month, ranging from well out the Selkirk Road to the
east and down to Nethermill to the south, some from Annan Water
to the north but, unsurprisingly, none from westwards of Beattock.
Most, the more regular ones, came from the eastern part of Moffat
itself and from Beattock. It must be stressed that the following
analysis is for the district as a whole, not individual gardens
and, in fact, some birds are very localised and are only likely
to be seen in one or two spots.
In the following report, comparison is often made to the December
2008 levels. That month was the 'pilot' for the survey - used
for evaluating various means of recording and presenting the
information. The number of reports received was far greater
than for any other month of the survey. Considering the variances
between one garden and another, to give a fair comparison the
December 2008 figures used here are based only on the gardens
that featured in both the December 2008 AND December 2009 surveys.
The total sightings have been posted on our website month on
month. We had the problem of a few reports reaching us too late,
for a variety of reasons, to be included in these monthly reports.
However, these late reports have been taken into account for
this full year summary (unless, of course, there are still one
or two that still haven't reached us).
Brief Summary
In total, 53 different birds were recorded in our gardens during
the survey year. This is quite a remarkable figure. The survey
concerned 'garden birds' so there are, of course, many other
birds that would have been observed either in the vicinity or
passing overhead (but not IN our gardens) and the total number
of bird species actually seen would have been considerably more.
The Chaffinch is the most widespread of our garden birds. Sightings
from month to month ranged from between 82% and 100% of all
observing days, with a total count of 599 sightings over 650
observing days, averaging 92%! Next most widespread is the Robin,
closely followed by Blackbird and Blue Tit with Great Tit, Coal
Tit, Dunnock and House Sparrow not far behind. Many birds were
recorded only rarely and there seemed little point in producing
charts for these under the circumstances. However, should anyone
so wish, graphs for these birds can be produced on request.
There should also be mention of birds that may have been expected
but which were reported only rarely or not at all. This includes
Garden Warbler (1 report), Bullfinch (2 reports), Willow Tit
(1 garden), Treecreeper (4 reports), Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit
and Linnet (1 report each). No reports at all on Goldcrest,
Waxwing, Spotted Flycatcher or Yellowhammer. There was one report
of a Pied Flycatcher but it is suspected that this may have
been a case of mistaken identity as the report was in winter
when these birds are normally in warmer climates.
The following pages gives graphs for some of the birds, showing
how sightings varied throughout the year. Most show a considerable
variation through the seasons, some following expected patterns,
some not!.
The Weather
The number of sightings may have been influenced by the weather
prevailing during the survey weeks.
From records at one location, the weather actually seems to
have been fairly typical for the most part but a with a fair
amount of rainfall in August and November. Temperatures seemed
to be on the low side during the second half of the year. There
are no records for weeks other than the survey ones and the
conditions then may be of significance but we have no way of
telling.
Going from the records, the general weather picture for the
survey weeks, month on month, is as follows:-
January 2009 - mixed, some frost, some rain and some
fog.
February 2009 - mostly cloudy, occasional showers and
some sunshine, generally mild.
March 2009 - mainly sunny & warm but occasional
chilly days.
April 2009 - dry and mainly sunny but windy with one
or two quite chilly days.
May 2009 - mostly sunny but some rainy days, warm in
the earlier part of the week but cooler later.
June 2009 - mainly cloudy and showery.
July 2009 - mixture of sun and showers.
August 2009 - rain on most days, often clearing by afternoons.
September 2009 - virtually dry throughout, sun on most
days.
October 2009 - mainly dry but fog/drizzle on some days,
occasional frosty start.
November 2009 - wet start to the week with rain or showers,
drier in mid-week then rain again, very heavy at times, especially
later in the week..
December 2009 - frosty mornings at start of the week,
cloudy with some light snow for the rest.
Many, perhaps most, species showed a marked dip during November
that could be associated with the heavy rainfall. There was
also a big dip in sightings of many of our birds in October
when the prevailing weather features were a few frosty mornings
and some fog & drizzle but it is possible that the dip had
nothing to do with weather - October was the month with the
fewest reports! Although August was a fairly wet month, only
a few birds seemed to have a dip in sightings during that period.
How the number of reports varied
The graph shows the steady decline in the number
of reports received through the year. There was a sharp rise
in observing days September but October showed the lowest level
of reporting for the year. November and December brought it
back to roughly the same levels as the period April to August.
Only 2 gardens produced a report for every month of the survey,
one covered 11 months and one more covered 10 months. Another
managed 8 months although the reporter was only resident there
for that period. Interestingly, many reports in the earlier
period covered only 4-6 days of the observing week while the
second half of the year mostly had reports covering the full
seven days of the week. In total, recordings for 650 days were
received for the year. A few bird types showed peaks during
September but whether or not this can be attributed to the rise
in reporting levels during that month is unclear but the fact
that other birds did not show such peaks would suggest that
it did not.
The following map shows the approximate locations for all the
reports received, colour coded to reflect their frequency.
The Tit Family
Blue Tit
This has shown a steady decline until September when there
was a brief recovery before dropping again until December when
there is a strong increase. The December figure is still well
below the value recorded in December 2008 (79%)
Great Tit
Followed a similar pattern to the Blue Tit but a more pronounced
drop although there was a small increase in May, a month earlier
than the Blue Tit. Again, December showed a good increase. December
values are lower than those for December 2008 (76%).
Coal Tit
Followed a similar pattern to the Great Tit but with a more
pronounced drop. Again a recovery in late summer although a
month earlier than Blue Tit and Great Tit. Unlike the others,
a strong recovery started from September. Again the December
values are lower than in 2008 (64%).
Chaffinch, Robin, House Sparrow, Blackbird
Four more of our regular garden birds -
Chaffinch
By far the most widespread of our garden birds and also by far
the most consistent throughout the year. It has appeared in
no less than 599 of a total of 650 observing days, an overall
average of 92% with a minimum of 82% in August and a maximum
of 100% in March. Despite its consistency, there have been some
reports that flock sizes are smaller than in previous years.
Nevertheless, our survey shows that it is still our commonest
bird.
Robin
An unexpected trend suggesting that, while very widespread in
winter, it is much less so in summer. Number of sightings in
December is roughly the same as in 2008.
House Sparrow
This one tends towards being restricted to only some areas.
The graph is unusual in that it very distinctly peaks through
the summer and early autumn,.almost the exact opposite of the
Robin! House Sparrows were reasonably common in winter but sightings
increasing dramatically in summer, probably due to the young
birds being taken away from the nest site by a parent while
another brood is started in the same nest. October showed a
marked dip in sightings before recovering somewhat. December
figure is very slightly higher than in 2008.
Blackbird
Good numbers of sightings earlier in the year, tailing off steadily
through spring and summer to reach the lowest value in September.
Sightings increased somewhat in October and rose considerably
during November and December as birds returned to gardens in
search of food. Reported sightings for December are well up
on the 2008 figure,
Dunnock, Nuthatch & Wren
Dunnock
Generally widespread, the numbers peaked in early spring
but then declined steadily until October when there was a steep
rise. December figure roughly the same as for December 2008.
Nuthatch
Very variable but remarkably consistent for most of the year,
recorded on between 20% and 50% of observation days. However,
dipped sharply in November and December and December is well
below the figure for the previous year (26%).
Wren
Mostly a low incidence of sightings, around the 10% mark earlier
in the year, falling away through May and June to zero in July.
August saw the numbers rise again but September showed another
dip. In October, the number soared but the remainder of the
year saw it drop back to low levels. December is below the 2008
level.
Other Finches, Siskin & Lesser Redpoll
These birds show remarkably similar graphs and the December
values for all three are similar, or slightly up, on those recorded
in December 2008.
Greenfinch
The most common of the three until March, overtaken by the Siskin
in April. Sightings peaked in May then fell steadily. There
was a recovery in September but entirely unreported in October.
The sightings picked up again in November and December.
Goldfinch
Low numbers seen in January, very low in February then recovering
strongly through March and April. Unlike the other two, May
showed a distinct dip in sightings before recovering again in
June. Again a steady fall until August and a brief recovery
in September. Again a significant drop in October before recovering
again during November and December.
Siskin
Like the others, a low number of sightings for January &
February but then a very strong recovery to reach a high in
May (when the others had a dip). The decline was then fairly
steady until it reached a very low value in October - the rise
seen in Greenfinch and Goldfinch in September was not matched
by the Siskin. However, like the others, a steady rise during
November & December.
Lesser Redpoll
This has not in the past been regarded as a garden bird, yet
this year has seen it appear in quite significant numbers in
many gardens. Usually seen in company with Siskin, it was first
reported during April and this was the peak month. Sightings
declined in May and it was almost absent again by June. There
were no further sightings reported for the year. There are signs
that it may be even more common in 2010 as quite a few sightings
were being reported in January.
Crows, Jackdaws & Starlings
While not commonly regarded as garden birds, Starlings are
now quite common in most gardens. Crows and Jackdaws are becoming
more common in our gardens. These bids are predominantly scavengers
in gardens - they see nestlings and young birds as easy prey
and, towards winter, are eager to snap up any food scraps they
can find.
Jackdaws
An erratic presence during the early months, increasing in summer
but with an unexplained dip in August. Sightings dropped off
in late autumn but recovered again in December. This bird was
not recorded in the December 2008 survey.
Starling
Fairly low presence initially, but then a distinct rise for
spring and summer with many young birds seen. September and
October showed a sharp fall, possibly as they moved out into
the countryside and even migrating southwards. A big rise in
November & December, perhaps boosted by a strong migration
of birds from Scandinavia and Russia. The figure for December
is up somewhat on the 2008 value.
Carrion Crow
Again quite low numbers sighted initially, rising somewhat in
March, dropping again in April but reaching higher levels during
May and June (there were many observations of Crows raiding
garden nests during this period). Sightings then declined through
to October before increasing strongly in the final two months
of the year, bringing the December level to almost double that
recorded in 2008.
Doves & Woodpeckers
Great Spotted Woodpecker
This seems to be an increasing common bird in our gardens.
During the observation year, the number of sightings declined
during the early months but rocketed during May and June. Then
came a decline through to a low in September, recovering only
slightly for the remainder of the year. Down a little on the
December 2008 value.
Wood Pigeon
Never prolific in our gardens (it is, after all, mainly a woodland
bird), the number of sightings remained quite low throughout
the year but with a slight increase over the summer months.
Collared Dove
The graph may not be too typical for this one as this bird seems
to be very localised and many of our reports came from gardens
within, or close to, the areas they frequent. This could well
give the suggestion that the Collared Dove is more common than
it actually is. Generally, the incidence of sightings followed
a very similar pattern to that of the Woodpecker, peaking during
the summer months before falling back again. Down slightly on
the December 2008 figure.
Other birds
There are, of course, many other birds to be seen in gardens.
Only a selection of these is included here
Song Thrush
This bird is well known for being largely absent from our
gardens during winter months and, indeed, it was largely absent
initially. March saw the usual influx with sightings increasing
greatly. Then came a fairly steady fall through to September.
There was a sharp rise again in October, possibly with birds
coming to feed on berries. November had no reports at all but
there were a few again in December, once again probably berry
feeding as winter approached. This bird was not recorded in
the December 2008 survey.
Pied Wagtail
A very erratic picture with the number of sightings see-sawing
up and down through most of the year but virtually nil through
the winter months.
Grey Wagtail
Not a common garden bird but April and May had significant
numbers reported.
Long-tailed Tit
This delightful bird was fairly common through the start
of the year until May. None reported during the summer (June
to August) and only a very few i late summer/early autumn. They
began to reappear in greater numbers in November and even more
so in December. December figure double that of 2008.
Brambling
A fair number around in January but few in February and
March. Highest number recorded in March (probably during migration)
but then down to nil by June. None recorded at all during June
to October but they started to reappear in November, increasing
further by December. It was not reported at all in December
2008.
