Garden/Yard List 2022 (1 Viewer)

[Richard Prior]

Total number of species slumped to a paltry 38 for November though it's good to see the Yellowhammers have rediscovered the site, they just haven't tempted any more exotic cousins to join them yet!
Trawling through the year's observations I find that six species have appeared only once:

Skylark

Collared Dove

Cuckoo

Garden Warbler

Yellow Wagtail

Goldcrest

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

Tawny Owl on Monday near midnight, a male with possibly another responding distantly, brought November’s tally up to 58 which is the average over the last 4 years.

Some strange and sad misses include Jay and Kestrel, both victims of the Cat population explosion, the latter not having any prey to hunt and the former not coming looking for the ever less frequent Tawny Owls. Jays were to be seen regularly marauding through the trees in search of Tawnies to harass.

herring Gull also missed, but that is more down to observer incompetence, not checking all big Gulls going over. Mea culpa.

December has started with a bang. I had a pretty busy day today, and so nearly didn’t bother having my normal early morning mooch about. Glad I did. Stopped to overlook the scrubby area behind the garden and was aware of a ‘zit’ call, quite loud and insistent. Couldn’t put my finger on it at first but then realised it was coming from the Buddliea I was standing next to. Then the penny dropped, surely a Firecrest. It flew out and into another bush. I checked on Xeno Canto that what I thought I heard was consistent with Firecrest, at which point it flew back in and performed admirably. Not only new for the year #105 but also new to the garden #130 and also #191 for my 10K circle.

My best year total is 106, with this cold snap and Easterlies due from tomorrow, that might be beatable. Could Waxwing be my next new garden bird?

View attachment FullSizeRender.MOV

 

[KenM]

Thought I’d had this already but apparently not!
Heard a faint distant “honk” looked up to the horizon, thought that Buzzard looks “a bit black”…..then realised it was no.81….Raven.
Have had one each year for the last three.🙂

 

[Jos Stratford]

Yellowhammer flock climbing nicely at my grain feeder, currently about 65 birds. They must be taking example from birds of Esq Prior

 

[Richard Prior]

65 ??! Blimey, the competition's too fierce, I've only got around 30 Yellow Bunting (as Ken likes to call them) but they're very wary which is not surprising given the Sparrowhawk's regular visits and the half a dozen Jay which send everything into temporary panic mode every time they swoop down. Marsh Tit are noticeably more numerous this autumn/winter so they must've had a good breeding season. Plenty of Chaffinch and Brambling feeding (around 25 of each on average) and the Great Spotted Woodpeckers have still not cottoned on to the fact that the feeders have been up for a couple of months, only the Middle Spotted are coming to feed so far.
I am now on five instead of six species that I've only observed the once here this year as just now a Goldcrest appeared in the same pine as the one a few weeks ago, I was wondering how many one offs the rest of you have had this year, 2022 has been a bit low on the surprise factor (for me anyway!).

 

[Richard Prior]

A few more of today's visitors plus a view of the highest peak visible from the house, Mt Charvin (2409m), at first light the other day.

 

[KenM]

Returned from our 3mile walk c13.30pm having had a couple of Kingfishers around the lake, was shaking off my wellieboos whilst opening the door, heard two soft “cricks” normally good for a bop!
Looked across the road to see a “grey buzzard” just creasing my neighbour’s roof with two same size Corvids on it’s tail!
Having spent the last eleven months looking out the back of the house over the wood, and getting several distant “possible” views of Gos…a “slam dunk” over the roof at 25 metres! No.82. 😮

Off the top of my head Richard so far this year for single appearances- Gos, Raven, Merlin, Honey Buzzard, Yellow Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Common Tern, Cuckoo, Garden Warbler and Pied Flycatcher.

 

[halftwo]

51 : Great black-backed Gulls

 

[Warixenjalka]

Fantastic stuff Jos, I must set up my trail camera this week, a passing Lynx would be nice(thought even rarer here than with you). Uncanny resemblance between your grain box and our house….

Did you noticed you have the Yeti on your garden? Couple of years ago we have one too, but it was that copper colored subspecies.

Stunning view, by the way

 

[Richard Prior]

51 : Great black-backed Gulls

51? Why not take a few weeks away till the year end H, you deserve a holiday ( see my post 999 upthread )?

 

[KenM]

51? Why not take a few weeks away till the year end H, you deserve a holiday ( see my post 999 upthread )?

You did put money on it Richard didn’t you 🤩

 

[halftwo]

51? Why not take a few weeks away till the year end H, you deserve a holiday ( see my post 999 upthread )?

Hmm, I've got about 7 days away, so that leaves c19 days to go. I think you & Ken might be either side of my total.

 

[Richard Prior]

Hmm, I've got about 7 days away, so that leaves c19 days to go. I think you & Ken might be either side of my total.

🤞🙏

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

A few new birds for the month, best of which was Blackcap, only my second December record. This means I’ve had them every month this year. There is a short gap of maybe a week to 10 days between our wintering birds leaving and the breeders arriving, also another gap between them going and the next winterers arriving.

Now I’ve just got to hope that the Chiffchaff across the road and the Cetti’s just along the river pop in for a December visit.

 

[Richard Prior]

Did you noticed you have the Yeti on your garden? Couple of years ago we have one too, but it was that copper colored subspecies.

Stunning view, by the way

Well spotted Wari, there is a Panda in the garage too, maybe we should open a Zoo

 

[Bananafishbones]

Two new for the year here in East Cheshire
44: Blackcap (m) this morning
45: Mistle Thrush this afternoon

 

[Richard Prior]

No Blackcap here since 15 September BfB! It's getting a bit wintry up here......

 

[Jos Stratford]

It's getting a bit wintry up here......

Softie This was approaching my old cabin in the morning, snowing all day since

New video by Lithuania And Beyond

photos.app.goo.gl

 

[Jos Stratford]

Feeders heaving ... three Grey-headed Woodpeckers, still the 65 Yellowhammers, five Tree Sparrows, hundreds of Great Tits

 

[Bismarck Honeyeater]

4 Lapwing moving East this afternoon was, I hope, the beginning of some cold weather movement. They are the first since April and the first records for any December.
I am going to brave the cold early tomorrow morning and hope for some more movement.