Croydon Lockdown Bird Watch

In case you haven't heard, the RSPB has closed all its reserves until further notice. Mmembers will have received an email about this from ou Chief Executive Beccy Speight. In it she says:
"Nature is all around us. Perhaps, like me, you are able to look out of your window onto trees bursting into blossom, bright white against a clear blue sky, or maybe you can hear the melodic song of blackbirds as dusk approaches.
"Watching wildlife, whether from a window or a balcony or even online, can offer many of us hope, joy and a welcome distraction, and so we are keen to help you carry on connecting with the natural world."
As an attempt to lighten the dark days of lockdown, perhaps you would like a bit of a challenge. So the RSPB Croydon Local Group would like to launch 'The Croydon Lockdown Bird Watch'. These are early thoughts for now and may be modified as time goes on.
As Beccy alluded to, we should have more time to spend looking at the birds in our gardens. If you are up for it, I would like people to keep a note of the birds they see or hear in or from their garden/house (ok, so not birds actually IN your house I hope!) over the period of a week. As it includes birds that can be seen from your garden, the distant dot that turns out to be a buzzard or red kite will count, as will the green woodpecker calling from a neighbour's garden. Then email the lists to John Birkett at the end of the week and we will see which different species have been recorded and who has seen the most. No prizes, just doing your bit enjoying our birds.
A modified form of our garden recording sheet has been prepared for you to note down the birds. It covers the next five weeks. A new one will be sorted out if there has been sufficient interest and in anticipation that lockdown will continue. We are also considering other diversions based around birds - watch this space or the RSPB Croydon Local Group's website.
Week 1 will be Weds 25/3 to Tues 31/3, week 2 Weds 1/4 to Tues 7/4 and so on. We started on Wednesday and I look forward to receiving the first lists at the end of March. Although just over four hours too early to go on my list, a Tawny Owl hooting outside my house gave hope for what could turn up. And even if you don't take part in our challenge, you can still enjoy the birds.