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On a bright and mild morning, Rainow Schools Big Garden Birdwatch
attracted lots of excitement. The group divided up so that everyone had a chance to take part in some classroom activities, watch birds on the feeders from the conservatory and then complete a birdwatching walk in the school grounds. |
First spot of the day was a buzzard soaring over the school grounds looking for food.
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We saw excellent numbers of Goldfinches and Great tits, Blue tits, Coal tits and a Greenfinch.
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We were also delighted to see a Mistle thrush and a pair of Jays.
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Most welcome spot of the day was three House sparrows
marking the return of a species that hasn't been noted at the school since 2007. |
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Volunteer RSPB Wildlife Explorer Leaders were on hand to explain how to use binoculars and 'spotting telescope' safely, and to help with bird identification. |
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Rainow Primary School - Big School Birdwatch Results
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Rainow School have tracked their Birdwatch results since they were first involved in 2007.
The number of species has nearly doubled since that first Birdwatch and coincides with the establishment of regular bird feeding at school. |
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| Species | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | |
| Blackbird | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
| Bullfinch | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Blue tit | 5 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 3 | |
| Brambling | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Carrion crow | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | |
| Chaffinch | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | |
| Coal tit | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |
| Collared dove | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Dunnock | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Goldfinch | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 14 | |
| Greenfinch | 0 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 1 | |
| Great tit | 3 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| Great spotted woodpecker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Grey heron | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| House sparrow | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Jackdaw | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | |
| Jay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | New |
| Long-tailed tit | 3 | 8 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | |
| Magpie | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| Mistle thrush | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | New |
| Nuthatch | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pheasant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Pied wagtail | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Redwing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | |
| Robin | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Siskin | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Song thrush | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Starling | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Treecreeper | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Woodpigeon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| Wren | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| No of species seen | 11 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 18 | |
| NB 2012: 1 x buzzard circling overhead. | |||||||