My list for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch:
Blue tit 3
Great tit 2
Long-tailed tit 2
Chaffinch 2
Robin 2
Dunnock 1
Magpie 1
Carrion crow 4
Green woodpecker 1
Town pigeon 4
Woodpigeon 2
Sparrowhawk 1
Which is basically pretty rubbish — it was very quiet today — but is livened up by a couple of decent species: sparrowhawk, which is increasingly common around here but by no means something I see in the garden often, and green woodpecker, which it turns out I have seen once before on a BGBW, but was still pleasing.
Most ridiculous gap on that list: blackbird. I mean, come on. Almost as surprising, no ring-necked parakeet.
Lots of possibles that didn’t show: wren, goldcrest, goldfinch, nuthatch, coal tit, great-spotted woodpecker. The garden has been weirdly short of birds for the past two or three years, though. We used to have lots of starlings: I’ve seen about two this year. Same with greenfinches. There used to be lots more chaffinches. I haven’t seen siskin this year.
I don’t know why this is true, but it’s faintly depressing. Ho-hum.