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Much of this site is dedicated to you, the birdwatcher, making and recording sighting in your garden. We hope you can make one or two sighting a week. It does not take long. For example, jot some notes down while you hare having a warm drink and enter the sighting at your leisure. The first few weeks you will probably not notice much of a pattern developing. After a while though, when you view your statisitics for your favourite garden birds you will see emerging trends. Later on you will try to see what trends are like in your regions. Then you can 'tweak' the bird environment in your garden. Later still, when you have the perfect visiting criteria you will probably go on to offer your advice to others who began just like yourself!!
The type of garden birds will visit can have an impact on the species that visit. For example, in major towns and cities there are many factors that will prohibit some speicies of bird visiting your garden while other will thrive. You could never expect to attract a bald eagle from the Rocky mountains into the back streets of Denver! One has to be practical in the expectations of which birds will predominate in a particular area.
Of those birds that do frequent a particular garden type, eg: town gardens, you may only be attracting a fraction. Some birds do not mind walking around on the patio. Other birds like the protection of bushes and trees where they can swoop in for a nibble and swoop back out. Finding the right layout will depend on the garden birds you want to attract. This site will provide you with the necessary statistics.
GBW use the the word predation on this site to mean any elements that will deter birds from visiting your garden. Of course, there are obvious things such as cats and other animals that can prey on garden birds. Not so obvious predation methods that could manifest in your back garden are things like human activity in its various guises.
The food you put out in your garden will have a very high impact on the types of species you attract. Birds have an uncanny ability to know when you have put food out. Within minutes of have no birds in your garden you could have fifty! But, are they all crows and pigeons or are they colourful coa tits, great tits, chaffinches etc. What you feed them will go a long way to determining which birds come to your garden.
Just as important as what you feed them is how you feed them! It is not use trying to attract small colourful garden birds if crows and ravens have easy access to the feed stuff. Does the seeds and nuts fall onto the ground for the pigeons to eat? Using this site you will learn which feeders serve which birds well and which are the best feeders to deter the birds you do not want. Can the starlings get access to the nyger seeds for the great tits?
As this site is just getting started I fully expect the parameters mentioned above to change and grow. Garden birds have a habit of knowing what they want, when they want it and how to get it. All we can do is measure and monitor their habits. So if you want to attract birds of your choosing to your garden, you will need to constantly monitor what is going on in your garden and the surrounding towns and lands. Use this site to help you focus in on the bird species you want in you garden. Learn how to disuade other birds from showing up and bullying your favoured birds into leaving. Get started now by signing up. Who knows, you might even enjoy the GBW community!
If you experience any diffculties using the BGT birdwatching site please contact me at: