Bird Race 2020
5th May 2020 | Marek Walford
Eight people took part in the first (and hopefully last) lockdown garden bird race. The top four were very close but Hugh Netley was the winner with an impressive total of 49. Hugh was viewing from his loft window and the extra elevation gave him views across the Thames and such megas as Mute Swan! Other year ticks included Hobby, House Martin, Cormorant and Treecreeper.
Paul Bright-Thomas was a very close second with 46. His best bird, a garden tick and probably bird of the day, was a first-summer Mediterranean Gull. He also had two year ticks (Common Tern and Egyptian Goose) and a first heard Dunlin. "No shows" are always a feature of bird races and Paul had, or rather didn't have, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush and Rook.
In joint second place was Finley Hutchinson with a very late (23:22) Dunlin.
Andy Tomczynski finished in third place with three lockdown ticks (Hobby, Whitethroat and House Sparrow). After 32 consecutive days of recording a daily list during the lockdown, the bird race was the first day where he exceeded a count over 40!
I finished in fourth place with 34. I only live half a mile from Hugh but I was sitting on a wheelie bin and that elevation couldn't compete with Hugh's loft! I did have two garden ticks though (Kestrel and Sand Martin).
Adrian Hickman finished in fifth place with a round total of 30 thanks to a late (19:32) Great Tit. His best bird was a Sparrowhawk that flew straight through his garden. He had two garden ticks (Song Thrush and Herring Gull).
Bob Lyle finished in sixth place with 28 and recorded 19 species on the dawn chorus.
Peter Newbound finished in seventh place with a total of 18.
Thanks to everybody for taking part and I hope you enjoyed it. The combined total was 72. There was some impressive dedication from Paul and Finley who seemingly stayed up all night! I didn't get up till 6:30 and had leisurely breakfast and lunch breaks, and did the bi-weekly Aldi shop!
| Pos. | Name | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | H R Netley | 49 |
| 2 | P Bright-Thomas | 46 |
| 2= | F Hutchinson | 46 |
| 3 | A B Tomczynski | 43 |
| 4 | M F Walford | 34 |
| 5 | A E D Hickman | 30 |
| 6 | B Lyle | 28 |
| 7 | P J Newbound | 18 |
| Species | HN | PB | FH | AT | MW | AH | BL | PN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | 49 | 46 | 46 | 43 | 34 | 30 | 28 | 18 |
| Cormorant | ||||||||
| Little Egret | ||||||||
| Grey Heron | ||||||||
| Mute Swan | ||||||||
| Greylag Goose | ||||||||
| Canada Goose | ||||||||
| Egyptian Goose | ||||||||
| Mallard | ||||||||
| Red Kite | ||||||||
| Sparrowhawk | ||||||||
| Buzzard | ||||||||
| Kestrel | ||||||||
| Hobby | ||||||||
| Peregrine | ||||||||
| Red-legged Partridge | ||||||||
| Pheasant | ||||||||
| Coot | ||||||||
| Lapwing | ||||||||
| Dunlin | ||||||||
| Common Sandpiper | ||||||||
| Mediterranean Gull | ||||||||
| Black-headed Gull | ||||||||
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | ||||||||
| Herring Gull | ||||||||
| Great Black-backed Gull | ||||||||
| Common Tern | ||||||||
| Feral Pigeon | ||||||||
| Stock Dove | ||||||||
| Woodpigeon | ||||||||
| Collared Dove | ||||||||
| Cuckoo | ||||||||
| Tawny Owl | ||||||||
| Swift | ||||||||
| Kingfisher | ||||||||
| Green Woodpecker | ||||||||
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | ||||||||
| Skylark | ||||||||
| Sand Martin | ||||||||
| Swallow | ||||||||
| House Martin | ||||||||
| Grey Wagtail | ||||||||
| Pied Wagtail | ||||||||
| Wren | ||||||||
| Dunnock | ||||||||
| Robin | ||||||||
| Blackbird | ||||||||
| Song Thrush | ||||||||
| Mistle Thrush | ||||||||
| Whitethroat | ||||||||
| Garden Warbler | ||||||||
| Blackcap | ||||||||
| Chiffchaff | ||||||||
| Goldcrest | ||||||||
| Firecrest | ||||||||
| Long-tailed Tit | ||||||||
| Coal Tit | ||||||||
| Blue Tit | ||||||||
| Great Tit | ||||||||
| Nuthatch | ||||||||
| Treecreeper | ||||||||
| Jay | ||||||||
| Magpie | ||||||||
| Jackdaw | ||||||||
| Rook | ||||||||
| Carrion Crow | ||||||||
| Raven | ||||||||
| Starling | ||||||||
| House Sparrow | ||||||||
| Chaffinch | ||||||||
| Greenfinch | ||||||||
| Goldfinch | ||||||||
| Linnet |