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.NameTotal
1H R Netley49
2P Bright-Thomas46
2=F Hutchinson46
3A B Tomczynski43
4M F Walford34
5A E D Hickman30
6B Lyle28
7P J Newbound18

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