Birds I Met in May

We're into the seventh year of Birdy Round Ups, and compared to when I first started these posts, it would seem birding as a hobby in general has greatly increased in popularity. While it always feels a little strange when something I have loved for a long time becomes a 'trend', it's absolutely great that people are noticing and appreciating our beautiful wildlife more and more. They need as much help as they can get, and when people are more aware of who we share the planet with, it raises the chances of them getting that help.

As someone who has been a birder for around 22 years now, I vouch for the joy and peace that our bird kingdom brings. For what we get from them, we must give back. Feed the birds. Provide fresh water sources all year round (keep them topped up in Summer and the ice broken in Winter). Plant native trees, bushes, flowers - look into which are great food sources, shelter, etc. Resist the urge to sanitise your outdoor spaces (for example, leave the leaves, don't over-prune, try to keep things as wild as possible with as little concrete and such as possible). Give them space. Stop pets and children from chasing or scaring them, even more so in Winter when they need to conserve energy and taking flight takes a lot of their energy! Most importantly, just be kind. All species, from gulls and pigeons to birds of prey and 'game birds' like pheasants, are all equal and deserve to live a safe, healthy life.

Anyway! Here are all the beautiful birds I met in May.

1st May 
Wood Pigeon
Linnet
Sand Martin
Skylark
Meadow Pipit
Cormorant
Kittiwake

2nd May
Blackbird

3rd May
Herring Gull

5th May
Rock Dove/Pigeon

6th May
Rock Dove/Pigeon
Starling

7th May
Starling

8th May
House Sparrow
Rock Dove/Pigeon
Wood Pigeon

9th May 
Rock Dove/Pigeon
Starling
House Sparrow

11th May
Blackbird

12th May 
Rock Dove/Pigeon

15th May
Collared Dove
Blackbird

16th May
Blackbird

17th May
Rock Dove/Pigeon

20th May
Rock Dove/Pigeon

21st May
Carrion Crow
Greylag Goose
Black-Headed Gull
Grey Heron
Lapwing
Avocet
Chaffinch
Wood Pigeon
Oystercatcher
Shoveler
Gadwall
Swift
Mute Swan
Sedge Warbler

22nd May
Dunnock
Collared Dove

25th May
Blackbird
Rock Dove/Pigeon
Buzzard
Goldfinch

26th May 
Starling

27th May
Oystercatcher

28th May
Wood Pigeon
Rock Dove/Pigeon

30th May
House Sparrow

Annual Total
Avocet
Blackbird
Black-Headed Gull
Blue Tit
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Chaffinch
Coal Tit

Collared Dove
Coot
Cormorant
Dunnock
Eider
Fulmar
Gadwall
Goldcrest
Goldfinch
Great Black-Backed Gull

Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit
Greenfinch
Greylag Goose
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw
Kestrel

Kittiwake
Lapwing
Linnet
Little Grebe
Long-Tailed Tit
Magpie
Mallard
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan

Oystercatcher
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail
Pink-Footed Goose
Reed Bunting
Ring-necked Parakeet
Robin
Rock Dove
Rook
Sand Martin

Sedge Warbler
Shelduck
Shoveler
Siskin
Skylark
Sparrowhawk
Starling
Stock Dove

Swift

Treecreeper 

Tufted Duck
Wood Pigeon

[& Greylag x Canada Goose Hybrid]

- 63

Monthly 'New' Totals
January - 28 birds
February - 8 birds 
March - 14 birds
April - 3 birds

May - 10