We were unable to run an event for the Big Garden Birdwatch this year because of the Covid-19 restrictions. However, Bob Groom, a local member of the Knutsford Ornithological Society, took a walk through The Heath and recorded what he found.
Bob recording fifteen species but was disappointed not to have found more. He said, “I had hopes of 20 but in the event only scored a measly 15 – no finches, woodpecker, not even a wren!“. Though I think he was unduly hard on himself as teams of spotters, with many eyes and ears, usually participate, and he achieved a notable first by spotting a Dunnock – a species we’d not seen before.
Thanks to Bob, we now have five years of continuous records.
| Species | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
| Blackbird | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Blackheaded Gull | 4 | 2 | 6 | 1 | |
| Blue Tit | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 |
| Bullfinch | 1 | ||||
| Buzzard | 3 | 1 | |||
| Carrion Crow | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Chaffinch | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Coal Tit | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Collared Dove | 1 | 1 | |||
| Dunnock | 1 | ||||
| Feral Pigeon | 2 | ||||
| Goldcrest | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Goldfinch | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Great Tit | 2 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Jackdaw | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Jay | 1 | 1 | |||
| Kestrel | 1 | ||||
| Long-tailed Tit | 4 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 1 |
| Magpie | 4 | 6 | 3 | 10 | 1 |
| Nuthatch | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Pied Wagtail | 2 | ||||
| Redwing | 5 | ||||
| Robin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Song Thrush | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Treecreeper | 1 | 1 | |||
| Waxwing | 2 | ||||
| Wood Pigeon | 4 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| Wren | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Grand Total | 47 | 48 | 53 | 64 | 31 |
Kevin Griffiths
