Counting the birds in garden and woodland areas around Paddock Wood

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch 2016 : Sunday 31^st January

Introduction 

Once a year, in late January, upwards of 500,000 people across the UK sit staring into their gardens for one hour, counting birds and they have been doing it since 1979 ! It’s the world’s largest citizen science survey and for many it’s the start of a lifelong fascination with nature.

An extra pair of eyes to help spot the birds !

This year I thought I would compare one hour’s bird watching in my back garden, with an hour in Paddock Woods only nature reserve, Foal Hurst Wood. Not very scientific, for there are many variables to discount, but I thought at least it might be interesting to compare the two contrasting habitats.

Comparing the two recording areas

My garden lies in the middle of a large 1960’s housing estate, on the western side of Paddock Wood and is roughly 10 metres wide and 45 metres long. It’s a mature garden, with trees, shrubs, hedges, lawn & a pond. The garden has a multitude of bird feeders dotted around the garden. By contrast, Foal Hurst Wood nature reserve is a 13 hectare semi ancient woodland with a further 4.5 hectares of grassland, located on the south west edge of Paddock Wood (grid reference TQ660442).

I spent 1 hour (9.45am – 10.45am) watching the garden from my back bedroom  & then immediately visited Foal Hurst Wood. I then spent three sessions of 20 minutes per session, in three different spots within the wood and grassland areas. One area was along the eastern edge of the wood, overlooking an old apple orchard. The second area was in the middle of the wood, where feeders are placed to supplement the bird’s food supply in the winter. The third was along the southern edge of the wood overlooking a horse paddock.

Garden Bird Photos

It was difficult to get any decent photographs but here are a few.

Female blackbird on the lawn.

The nations favourite bird, a robin.

A few of the woodpigeons to descend on my lawn.

"That's my boy !"

One of my favourite birds to see in the garden : a Jackdaw.

A starling, singing in the breeze.

The Results

The recording method for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is to count the different species of birds seen in the garden and the maximum number of each bird species seen at any one time.

	Garden	Foal Hurst Wood
Blue Tit	2	12
Great Tit	1	10
Coal Tit	-	1
Long Tailed Tit	-	2
Chaffinch	1	2
Greenfinch	1	-
Bullfinch	-	2
Goldfinch	6	-
Blackcap	1	-
Robin	1	2
House Sparrow	8	-
Dunnock	1	3
Tree Creeper	-	1
Goldcrest	-	1
Blackbird	2	15
Song Thrush	1	1
Fieldfare	-	42
Nuthatch	-	2
Great Spotted Woodpecker	1	1
Jackdaw	8	-
Carrion Crow	1	2
Magpie	2	-
Jay	-	1
Wood Pigeon	8	33
Collard Dove	5	-
Starling	25	54
Total Number of Species	18	19
Total Number of Birds	75	187

Comments

A total of twenty seven species were seen over both sites and although the mix of species was different, the total number of different species seen at the two sites was remarkably similar (garden : 18 species, Foal Hurst Wood : 19 species).

The species mix at the two sites was interesting. The garden lacked many of the more woodland species : nuthatch, jay, treecreeper,  goldcrest, plus coal & long tailed tit and fieldfare. Foal Hurst Wood lacked the winter garden / urban species : House Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Collard Dove, Blackcap, plus Magpie & Jackdaw.

There was however a sharp difference in the total number of birds seen in the two sites. This is not surprising, given the large difference in the size of the two sites and the capacity at Foal Hurst Wood to accommodate far larger flocks of birds, particularly wood pigeon, fieldfare, starling. The high numbers of blackbirds were seen in the orchard, feeding on the fallen apples, as were the fieldfare. The large number of blue and great tits were around the woodland feeders.

Past & future years

This is the first site comparison exercise I have undertaken, but I have been recording garden birds for many years. The number of birds seen today, was down on previous years, particularly blue and great tits. I think this reflects the very mild weather conditions so far this winter.  The weather this morning was damp and mild with an outside temperature of 8c and a gentle westerly breeze (average speed 12mph).

The orchard & arable fields adjacent to the eastern edge of Foal Hurst Wood nature reserve are due to build upon, with up to 350 new houses expected by 2026. The large numbers of fieldfares and blackbirds will probably disappear, as the orchard is grubbed out. The effect on other species may be varied. 

If householders put up food for birds in their gardens, then being on the edge of the nature reserve, many of the woodlands birds may be attracted into the gardens to top up their food reserve during cold weather. At other times of the year, especially spring and summer, a burgeoning cat population, with easy reach to Foal Hurst Wood , may well result in greater predation pressures for birds and small mammals. 

Additionally the grey squirrel population in the wood will probably increase in size, due to the readily available food supplies on offer in the gardens during the winter. More squirrels is likely to result in greater failure of bird nests in the springtime, as the grey squirrels look for eggs and chicks to feed their own growing young.

Much has been promised, by both the developers and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, to protect the local wildlife in this area. Monitoring the expected changes in the wildlife of this part of Paddock Wood will either confirm or refute the wisdom of allowing a major housing development so close to a nature reserve.