Reserve 21 is the name given to our garden based on the relative high number of different wildlife species that live in it and visit it.
The number of wild bird species in the UK in 2021 according to the British Ornithologists Union is 574. The number of bird species seen in, or above, the garden is 22 (although two of these species need confirming and several more are suspected as being visitors but don't yet appear on the list), which is just under 4% of all British species. And, that is with the provision of supplementary feeding (sunflower kernels) during the colder months which definitely attracts species such as the Goldfinch, which would rarely visit the garden otherwise. While supplementary feeding does slightly increase the number of species its biggest impact is on the overall quantity of birds that visit the garden.
Feeding with sunflower kernels from an elevated bird feeder does little however, to help the larger birds such as the blackbirds, pigeons etc, that are too big for the feeder but some of them scavenge the seeds that fall to the ground. It's interesting to observe how long different species spend at the feeder in one go. Robins dart in and out and take one seed away at a time and consume it on a nearby branch before returning. While mobs of Goldfinches will spend several minutes at a time feeding at the feeder.
Interestingly the UK is home to many more bird species (574) than butterfly species (59), and while the garden hosts more bird species (21) than butterfly species (19), the garden hosts barely 4% of all UK bird species compared to an impressive 30% of all UK butterfly species!
| IFABW Rank | BIRD SPECIES SEEN IN OR ABOVE THE GARDEN, FREQUENCY AND WHETHER THEY NEST IN GARDEN
*Species that are known to nest in the garden |
| REGULAR VISITORS | |
| 1. Blackbird* | |
| 2. Robin* | |
| 3. House sparrow* | |
| 4. Woodpigeon | |
5. Great tit* |
|
| 6. Blue tit* | |
| 7. Collared Dove | |
| 8. Goldfinch | |
| 9. Wren | |
| 10. Coal tit | |
| 11. Goldcrest | |
| 12. Long-Tailed tit | |
| RARE VISITORS | |
| 13. Starling | Used to be a frequent visitor to the garden and amazing murmurations overhead before roosting in what was a sizeable copse but now reduced to a few trees. |
| 14. Song thrush | Much less common in recent years |
| 15. Magpie | Much less common in recent years although still frequently seen in nearby fields |
| 16. Redwing | Seen identified for first time in the winter of 2020/21 |
| 17. Fieldfare | Visits in winter, especially when snow on the ground |
| 18. Sparrow hawk | Seen swooping down at speed to take sparrows feeding on the ground several times |
| UNCONFIRMED SPECIES SEEN IN THE GARDEN |
| 19. Chiffchaff | |
| 20. Housemartin | |
| 21. Swallow |