The 2006 Big Garden Birdwatch takes place this weekend. Watch the birds in your garden or local park for an hour and take part in the world's biggest bird survey!

Last January, nearly 400,000 people spent an hour watching their local birds, collectively recording over 6 million birds in more than 200,000 gardens.

The survey is very simple. All you need to do is watch your garden or local park for an hour on either Saturday 28 or Sunday 29 January, note down the birds you see and then fill in the form on the RSBP web site telling them the highest number of each species you see at any one time in the hour (this avoids counting the same birds twice.)

Read more: http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/2006/index.asp

What birds?used to have plenty,the local Sparrow Hawk has killed them all,so much for conservation,the balance has now tipped in their favour.

The wheel turns, guys. If the hawks kill off all their food supply, they will leave, the smaller prey animals will return and multiply, and eventually, the predators will be back to keep their numbers down. Texas is a major birdwatching destination. We know the three things you must have to draw birds--water, cover that they can perch on, and food. In the desert, not a lot of water. But we are on the South American - North America flyway. The water is already out for our animals, there is plenty of shrubbery for perching and protection, and to make sure there's more than enough food, I toss out handfulls of bird seed from time to time. As for the hawks, we have several types here ranging from the large red eagles, about two feet tall to smaller. We have a redtail hawk near the house, a grey hawk that lives further down the road, and kestrels come through when they migrate. They can stay as long as they leave my cats alone and stick to the mice, lizards, and snakes.

Here in Shropshire our largest bird of prey is the Buzzard,and just over the border in Wales is the Red Kite, which is making a come back thanks to conservation efforts.In Scotland is the Golden Eagle,but i dont know how large this is compared to the American Bald eagle.

I've only seen bald eagles from a distance, and in zoos. They are about two and a half to three feet tall, from top of the head to the tip of the tail feathers. The red eagles I never knew existed until I saw them here are about eighteen to twentyfour inches. Hawks are eighteen inches or less, depending on the breed. We also have buzzards. In fact, they are a protected species in the US because they take care of dead animals that are left along the side of the road, or in the middle of nowhere. We have a lot of what we call "road kill" here because the wildlife if so prolific here, and the population is so low. Even the remote parts of the interstate can be hazardous at dusk and dawn, when the deer and javelinas come out to forage. My husband saw a wolf on night, I've seen a puma, and I almost ran down an elk that was in the middle of the road one night. Like, I said, the wild west, with all the traditional stereotypes. I tried to post a photo of our house, but it wouldn't let me. I'll try again.

JAVELINA ??????

:lol: I KNEW that one would get you! They're the West Texas version of a wild boar. They're not as big, but they can be mean. They're built like a domestic pig, but smaller, and they're black. They roam free in packs, and they come out around dusk to feed.