The Joy of Nature - big bird watch and surprising behaviour of a cow!

We enjoyed doing the bird watch today, though as usual you do it, make your count, then an hour later there seems to be twice the amount in the garden! 

A small Chaffinch flock was the greatest numbers, but only then 1 or 2 of the rest- green finch, blue tit, dunnock, blackbird, robin, coal tit, siskin, house sparrow. 

Now there are more numbers of the rest and bullfinch too! But my numbers are submitted so no fudging the results. I think the wind was a bit strong earlier and it's improved now as the red squirrel is about now too.

I can't recognise enough of the SBB's (small brown birds) we get in the garden, I'm not even sure if we have tree or house sparrows, we do have starlings, collared doves, robbins, blue *** and jackdaws come to the feeders and black birds hang out with the chickens, but thats about it.

It is very hard to get your eye in unless you see several birds together. House sparrows are the most likely, though we do get tree sparrows here too. Tree sparrows have a slightly different body size and shape, but the most telling sign is that house sparrow males have a grey cap (like a stone house), while a tree sparrow male has a brown cap like a tree!

I'm amazed that I seem to have assimilated a lot of knowledge from the hours I spent looking at my little pocket bird book and a child. Names just seem to come to mind, not always right but it's wonderful when it's right!

Yes, the females of a lot of species are brown, is can be really hard to tell them apart! 

Sometimes there are features you can learn to look out for to help. Female house sparrows have a distinctive pale supercilla ( eye stripe). Once you can tell these features, it really helps. One turned up at the end of our birdwatching hour amongst the Chaffinchs. Soon a male turned up with the grey cap, then later the rest of the flock turned up too!

Female ducks are really tough too, most are brown. I also struggle with warblers and small waders! I don't have to opportunity to really watch them in the field to learn the differences!

Yes, the females of a lot of species are brown, is can be really hard to tell them apart! 

Sometimes there are features you can learn to look out for to help. Female house sparrows have a distinctive pale supercilla ( eye stripe). Once you can tell these features, it really helps. One turned up at the end of our birdwatching hour amongst the Chaffinchs. Soon a male turned up with the grey cap, then later the rest of the flock turned up too!

Female ducks are really tough too, most are brown. I also struggle with warblers and small waders! I don't have to opportunity to really watch them in the field to learn the differences!