© Ben Andrews
There ’ s good news for keeping the little ones occupied over the school holidays , with bird feeders easily made at home using household items and kitchen scraps . Studding apples with sunflower seeds makes easy hanging treats and threading cubes of cheese and apple onto floral wire provides a tasty pitstop for garden favourites .
Finally , a reliable water source is needed all year round , and a simple shallow dish will provide a place to drink and bathe . A small ball will stop your bird bath freezing over on those chilly January days .
What are you likely to see ?
Last year the gregarious little house sparrow took the number one spot in Kent ’ s Big Garden Birdwatch and nationally took first place for the 17th year running ! For those of us with resident house sparrows we barely bat an eyelid when these little brown birds flit about our gardens , but they ’ re very nest site loyal and bring joy to those who don ’ t have them on their patch . The males are easy to spot with grey caps , black markings around their eyes and beaks and brown and black flecked wings . The females are a more muted affair , with pale brown colouring and those tell-tale black and brown flecked wings .
Taking the number 2 position was the starling last year with those wonderful iridescent feathers flecked with white tips . At this time of year , starlings also murmurate , and while many of us certainly won ’ t see this in our gardens , watching thousands of starlings come together to swoop is a magical experience . We think they do this for warmth , for safety in numbers and for information exchange . The RSPB Dungeness nature reserve ( www . rspb . org . uk / dungeness ) is a great place to see this phenomenon in Kent from November through to January .
The woodpigeon ( number 4 in Kent last year ), robin ( number 8 ), blackbird ( number 5 ) and magpie ( number 7 ) perhaps need no introduction , but the tits taking the top spots are always wonderful to see on a bleak winter ’ s day . In 2021 , the blue tit maintained its strong top 5 position , taking the number 3 spot in Kent and showing up in 3 out of 4 Kent gardens . With its blue cap , yellow chest and green and blue wings , it ’ s a great one for children to identify from a young age .
Similar in appearance , the great tit is also a garden favourite , showing up in nearly 1 in 2 Kent gardens and taking last year ’ s number 9 spot . It can be distinguished from the blue tit by its black head and larger size .
Taking the 13th spot last year , we can ’ t forget the adorable little long tailed tit – clearly distinguished by a long tail that ’ s significantly longer than its round little body . Charming to see , they fly around in flocks of up to 20 in a bobbing , undulating flight . They don ’ t stick around for long , but are commonly seen in gardens with nearly 1 in 5 Kent gardens boasting them in this year ’ s Big Garden Birdwatch .
Finally , part of the finch family , the goldfinch is wonderful to spot , with their black , red and yellow markings making them hard to miss . With red faces , black and white heads and black and yellow wings , they love teasels in the winter months so will thank you if your garden or green space is well stocked ! Failing any available teasels , they love nyger seeds and the RSPB shop stocks a pre-filled sample feeder for tempting them along .
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