RSPB garden birdwatch...

[SteveC]

I think you're supposed to only count in your own garden, but the RSPB website will have more details.
But don't give up with the feeders. It can take several weeks for birds to find and feel comfortable enough to use a feeder and this winter has (until the past week) been so mild that there's still lots of food out in the natural environment and they're not using feeders as much as in other years.

[CAMRAMan]

I don't think so, but check out the RSPB site. As for the lack of feeding action, how long have you been at the house?.Birds are creatures of habit. Tits in particular seem to flit from site to site on a fixed route. Sooner or later a scouting bird will find your feeders and the garden will teem with life.

[Bledlow]

I got a text message from the RSPB this morning, reminding me.

[SteveC]

Done ours this morning.  Species count was a bit up on last year (11 as opposed to 7) but individual numbers were down. E.g. starlings 1 as opposed to 14, goldfinches 2 as opposed to 5. Part of this maybe that we've not filled up the feeders in the last few days, but I suspect most is the mild winter as I mentioned above. If there is plenty of food in the 'wild' where there's less disturbance, the birds will stay there.

[CAMRAMan]

In the middle of mine now. A bit thin on the ground, tbh. I can hear plenty of birds, but few are paying a visit so far. The big male blackbird is back and I'm hoping he attracts others in, just like the first customer in a porn shop in Amsterdam, DAHIKT.

Nearly over. The one blue tit that tucked into the mealworms failed to attract any more, unusually. We have large patio windows and a smallish garden, so I think I am repelling them, sitting here in my onesie! A good strategy might be to video the garden for an hour and then count the species. Next year, perhaps...

So, one wood pigeon, a male and female sparrow, a male blackbird, a robin and a blue tit. Three minutes to go...

And that was it. We'll be going out later and I know the garden will teem with birds. I can tell that by how fast the mealworms go down in the feeders.