Big Garden Birdwatch 2015 (1 Viewer)

Kits said:

I'm sure you're not, and at least you did it accidentally. One of my friends counts birds on the BW weekend, and then counts them during the following week and the next weekend and submits the count with the highest number which rather defeats the object of the exercise. I have tried explaining to her that there is no prize for having more goldfinches etc than everyone else, but she has been doing it this way for the past 8 years. Grrrrr! :C

Click to expand...

Thanks Kits.

Hell there is still SO much to learn about birding, it can be quite humiliating tbh.

I keep discovering I'm so full of half-bake assumptions and preconceptions that are being lanced by birders on here and at reserves I visit on almost a daily basis. The other week I went out to Otmoor to film a murmuation only to be informed after I'd posted a clip of it on YouTube that I'd actually filmed lapwings!! AAAARRRGGGHHH !!!

So anyway I went back to Otmoor and this time captured the real thing, which made it an even greater thrill.

But at the end of the day I couldn't really give a monkeys about my faux pas. Too old for that. The only thing that matters is I'm having such a fantastic time getting more and more into this amazing pastime, it just keeps on getting better and better.

The other day I bought the Bird Atlas of Britain because I wanted to find out where I could hope to find what bird, and now I'm spending all my time studying it in detail, there's so much in it.

One of these fine days it'll be me who turns out to be the expert and then I'll be like you, frustrated with ********s like your friend who just won't listen. :t:

I'm no expert, wotcha! I bet it was thrilling to see the starlings - something I have yet to see "in real life". As long as you are getting pleasure and enjoyment, that is the main thing.

wotcha said:

@ dantheman and Kits: RSPB advisor confirmed exactly what you said, I was supposed to have counted only birds actually IN the garden, not around. However he did agree the wording on the BGB page could be confusing and said he would pass it on up to whovever decides the wording for next year.

Click to expand...

Agree it wasn't too clear at all - I think in the past when we did it for a local park it was a lot more clear that it was not a garden specifically we were counting in. This year it was the feeding station for the nature reserve - and we were able to specify that when posting the results.

Have to admit I didn't like the way had to enter the results - very fiddly to keep clicking on icons, go back to my list etc, but I assume it is one way to avoid mistakes in clicking the wrong species although it would have been quite easy to forget a species instead.

Oh well, results in (and had to add Water Rail in the comments section).

Was quite pleased with the Mmorhen under my feeder till I saw your Water Rail!

... but it is a nature reserve, and Water Rails can be quite fearless - in fact the visiting Moorhen is so much more wary (Some pics of the Water Rail on earlier posts on the blog below of course).