The Garden	Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland
Article: A Year in The Garden
Between 1986 and 2000 I recorded 40 species of birds within my parent's suburban garden in Kilmarnock (Ayrshire, South West Scotland). Unfortunately I never saw the 41st (which of course had to be the highlight!) A Rose-coloured Starling lingered for only a few minutes on the morning of 7 September 2002. It was first sighted on the garage roof with a gang of it's vulgar relatives and then dropped down on to the patio below for some food scraps before flying off.
All 41 species occurred within an area encompassing the boundaries of the garden and the airspace up to the level of the highest part of the roof. A further 21 species have been sighted flying over and therefore excluded from the |defined list|.

 

One of the reasons a good range of birds was recorded, apart from a reliable source of winter feeding, was probably due the fact that the borders of five rear gardens (including this one) met at a point where a few Sycamores, a Birch and a Larch grew to create, in effect, a miniature nature reserve. Passing birds would often stop and rest on the tree tops. Large trees are fairly scarce in the area since the gardens are small and less mature than older, more established areas of the town. However, over the years various neighbours had the bright idea of removing these wildlife-rich sources and replacing them with that urban monster known as Leyland Cypress x Cupressocyparis leylandii. As a result our annual box-breeding Blue Tits finally ceased as their much-needed resource of larvae for the chicks eventually disappeared. Our garden has three Rowans trees which have been there a long time but are going nowhere due to the enforced shading and drought created by the rampant hybrid conifers.

Confirmed breeding birds have been Blue Tit, Starling, House Sparrow, Blackbird and Dunnock. Within the immediate area in Spring, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Song Thrush and Collared Dove can be seen and heard singing and probably breed. Garden rarities have been Waxwing, Brambling, Redwing, Grey Wagtail and Rose-coloured Starling - all involving just one record each. Some species, such as the Song Thrush, are far less regular now while others, such as the Magpie (from the early 1990s) and Collared Dove (the late 1990s), are increasingly common in the area. The Siskin and Coal Tit, in particular, have been very periodic in abundance with no records in some years.

The table below shows the monthly pattern of occurrence of each species over the years.

SPECIES J F M A M J J A S O N D  Sparrowhawk                          Black-headed Gull                          Common Gull                          Lesser Black-backed Gull                          Herring Gull                          Feral Rock Dove                          Wood Pigeon                          Collared Dove                          Tawny Owl                          Swift                          Swallow                          House Martin                          Pied Wagtail                          Grey Wagtail                          Starling                          Rose-coloured Starling                          Magpie                          Jackdaw                          Rook                          Carrion Crow                          Waxwing                          Wren                          Dunnock                          Blackcap                          Willow Warbler                          Chiffchaff                          Goldcrest                          Robin                          Blackbird                          Song Thrush                          Mistle Thrush                          Redwing                          Coal Tit                          Blue Tit                          Great Tit                          House Sparrow                          Chaffinch                          Brambling                          Greenfinch                          Siskin                          Goldfinch

 

The 23 other fly-overs sighted from the garden have been; Cormorant, Grey Heron, Whooper Swan, Greylag Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Mallard, Pintail, Tufted Duck, Goldeneye, Goosander, Common Buzzard, Peregrine, Kestrel, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Redshank, Curlew, Snipe, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Fieldfare, and Raven.

I often wonder what the next new bird will be. Some relatively common birds have never put in an appearance, e.g. Long-tailed Tit, and this may be due to the fact that the area is perhaps not so well connected to the major nearby woodland habitats.

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