By Robin Noble
As Martine and I have been in this house (and garden) for five years now, I thought it might be interesting to write up the list of all the birds seen (and heard) in, and from, our medium-sized suburban garden on the outskirts of Ceret. The following is in the “official" order, as used in most birdbooks.
Goldcrest
Great tit
Blue tit
Coal tit
Crested tit
Long-tailed tit
Robin
House sparrow
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Serin
Chaffinch
Backcap
Sardinian warbler
Redstart
Black redstart
Short-toed treecreeper
Wryneck
Nuthatch
Cirl bunting
White wagtail
Swallow
House martin
Swift
Blackbird
Starling
Bee-eater
Collared dove
Great spotted woodpecker
Hoopoe
Magpie
Jay
Raven
Cuckoo
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Golden eagle
Short-toed eagle
Tawny owl
Scops owl
Grey heron
Common crane
Duck of some kind in the distance, probably mallard,
Gull ditto in the distance
Cormorant
And, last but not least, I once saw a green parrot of some kind (not a parakeet) in a tree in the garden; no doubt it was a domestic escapee! And a local starling keeps trying to pretend that it is a golden oriole, but I have not counted it either!
I make that 46 different species; when you consider that there are a few quite common birds around which I have missed, I think that makes a reasonable total for casual watching, and suggests that this is quite a good place for birds. We have views of the mountains, birds from the woods at the back of our estate clearly come down into the garden in the winter, and it seems that we are on a reasonably busy migration route to judge by the numbers of bee-eaters and hirundines which have been passing over in recent weeks. All in all, quite a diverse area for relaxed bird-watching!
As Martine and I have been in this house (and garden) for five years now, I thought it might be interesting to write up the list of all the birds seen (and heard) in, and from, our medium-sized suburban garden on the outskirts of Ceret. The following is in the “official" order, as used in most birdbooks.
Goldcrest
Great tit
Blue tit
Coal tit
Crested tit
Long-tailed tit
Robin
House sparrow
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Serin
Chaffinch
Backcap
Sardinian warbler
Redstart
Black redstart
Short-toed treecreeper
Wryneck
Nuthatch
Cirl bunting
White wagtail
Swallow
House martin
Swift
Blackbird
Starling
Bee-eater
Collared dove
Great spotted woodpecker
Hoopoe
Magpie
Jay
Raven
Cuckoo
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Buzzard
Golden eagle
Short-toed eagle
Tawny owl
Scops owl
Grey heron
Common crane
Duck of some kind in the distance, probably mallard,
Gull ditto in the distance
Cormorant
And, last but not least, I once saw a green parrot of some kind (not a parakeet) in a tree in the garden; no doubt it was a domestic escapee! And a local starling keeps trying to pretend that it is a golden oriole, but I have not counted it either!
I make that 46 different species; when you consider that there are a few quite common birds around which I have missed, I think that makes a reasonable total for casual watching, and suggests that this is quite a good place for birds. We have views of the mountains, birds from the woods at the back of our estate clearly come down into the garden in the winter, and it seems that we are on a reasonably busy migration route to judge by the numbers of bee-eaters and hirundines which have been passing over in recent weeks. All in all, quite a diverse area for relaxed bird-watching!
