Look out and look up in unison
The back garden pond here in Banstead - best bird to visit it? Grey Wagtail. We have, so far, 16 participants in our laid-back self-isolation back garden challenge. The rules are simple - as from March 20th (or later if you subsequently join in), all competitors will keep a list of the species observed from their garden/window. When the government announce a lessening of the 'state of emergency' I will calculate what percentage of their historical garden lists each birder has recorded. Updates will be posted on this blog, with hopefully a few details from each garden such as movements, counts and highlights. It shouldn't really be seen as a fierce competition, more a celebration of what birdlife we can see from our humble homes. Regular observation from any location will provide surprises and useful data, so garden confinement shouldn’t be seen as a hardship, more like an opportunity. Good luck and, above all, enjoy! Steve G (Banstead, Surrey) Garden list of 92 ...