From David Ord:
On the anniversary of the start of the first lockdown, it is sobering to think that we have spent the best part of 6 months of the last year in lockdown! The primary Lockdown Bird Challenges run during the 12 weeks in spring (Mar - Jun) were repeated for the winter lockdown just finished (Dec - Mar). These were:
Challenge 1: Birds seen or heard in / from house and garden (extended in winter to include also the permitted exercise area).
Challenge 2: Birds photographed in / from house and garden (extended in winter to include also the permitted exercise area).
Enthusiasm
amongst the team was again high and, although the team was slightly
smaller than that in spring, the lists of birds developed steadily over
the 12 weeks. By the end of the 12 weeks both lists had exceeded in
number the corresponding lists from the spring. Challenge 1 nudged over
the notional ‘target’ of 114 birds set by the spring total - eventually
reaching 117. Challenge 2 blasted through the already credible target of
74 birds photographed, exceeding this in February. By the end of
lockdown an amazing 104 species of bird had been photographed.
The
two lockdowns were timed perfectly to pick up two distinct populations
of birds. The first caught the spring migrants and the second the
overwintering birds. The graphic below summarises the 6 months of
lockdown birding in Pembrokeshire. A total of 148 birds (146 species, 1
sub-species and 1 bird of recognised geographic origin) were seen/heard
and, of these, 119 birds (118 sp, 1 ssp) were photographed.
Well done and thanks to everyone who took part in these challenges. Fingers crossed we’re not obliged to enter a third round!
