It is just over a couple of weeks until this year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (23-25 January). Last year I remember that we had a surprisingly high number of goldfinches and, as I recall, not so many sparrows. This year, I’d love our local flocks of long-tailed tits to make an appearance. They were out in force this morning, having their breakfast on the feeders in the garden at the same time we had our breakfast indoors.

There are no guarantees of course. While we tend to get some visitors coming every day, including those sparrows and also blue tits, the gang of long-tailed tits only makes a more irregular appearance. However, if we do spot them at any point over the birdwatch weekend, that will probably be the hour we choose to count and record.

Is that cheating? No more so than making sure feeders are well stocked and other tricks. I’m pretty sure that if the RSPB tried to exact a more rigorous routine, like setting particular hours to watch, their numbers would drop a long way both from the birds that chose to visit at different times and the watchers who couldn’t make the particular times. Mind you, I’d love to know how their statisticians account for the fact that a good number of their observers have done everything they can to have bountiful observation times.