First Garden Ticks in recent months?

[Picidae]

Hopefully most of us have gardens and those of us that do have probably been feeding birds for some years. Further more, I'm sure there's many of us who get certain regular species all the time but not others. ''Why we ask?'' ''What can I do to attract this species''? ''I put certain food out etc etc ... they don't come' .. and so on

And then one day ... it happens. Finally, for no apparent reason, no food change, a new species starts visiting on a regular basis .... Aren't Birds Brilliant!!!

For me over the past two or three months New Garden Birds are:

Goldfinch in past few days having now found the sunflower hearts, (despite me having this food available for several years!)
Goldcrest over past few months now regularly on the fat balls (again despite this being provided for some years in the garden!)
Blackcap: males and females over past few months

(Last year it was a Great Spotted Woodpecker on the peanuts for the first time despite having lived here for 7 years!)

What New Birds have others had in their gardens this year so far?

[martyp]

I've only noticed a little group of long tailed tits in my garden in the last few months. They tend to mostly be in a hedgerow opposite or in a big willow tree in a neighbours garden but have also popped into my garden a few times, a couple of times on a fat ball. I haven't really noticed any new birds other than that although I think a goldfinch made a very brief appearance on my back fence once.

[weirdwolf]

AHA! It's you that has been stealing my goldfinches away from me!

I've been having to fill my niger seed feeder every couple of days over the last few months but recently I've had just a single solitary very mardy looking Goldfinch.
The chaffinches and sparrows are eating me out of house and home though, I do wish they knew how expensive the seed was and weren't quite so profligate with it.
The very next day after visiting our local nature reserve and telling my daughter that we probably wouldn't get long tailed tits in my garden,(I'm the only person in my suburban area that seems to feed the birds and the very small gardens are all grassed over or gravel chips,) a group of about half a dozen start whirling around the branches of the tree at the end of my garden.
Before I started feeding the birds almost a year ago the most we would get were collared doves, pigeons and the very occasional blackbird. At last count there have been 17 species visiting my garden. Not to shabby considering.

[Jason Green]

Oh, that kind of tick! I thought you meant the... never mind

I had a flock/group/whatever of BH'd Gs yesterday... does that count? It's about the most exotic so far. I did hear the almost complete song of the wren in the last month, maybe that's it.

[Dae]

I don't think I've had anything directly IN my garden that was new, though had those red kites flying overhead which was very exciting - but not technically in my garden.

Having said that, I do think the Goldcrest did visit on this side of the new year, so that makes it a new tick for my garden this year. That was fantastic, couldn't believe my luck at spotting it as I was going past the window.

We get such a variety here, that there isn't much I can think of that would be a new addition here. The most likely new visitor I see showing up someday is perhaps a treecreeper, there's lots of those in the area. Won't go to the feeder, but perhaps may visit our tree someday.

[Astra]

For me it had to be the Redpoll last week - it was a wonderful "first tick" and has been back twice more

Plus I've had Siskins back for the first time in 7 years and a nice pair of Blackcaps back again so it's been a really good year so far.
All I need now is a few Bramblings and I shall be very happy.

[Pete Collins]

Fieldfare is the only new bird I've seen in the garden so far this year (I'd seen them from the garden before, but not actually in it). But there's been a reasonable of selection of birds so far, 23 in total including Buzzards seen overhead. Several Yellowhammers visiting when there was heavy snow on the ground was a treat.

I'm amazed Badgerwatcher hasn't been on here yet bragging about her Firecrest!

[Jason Green]

...she will, she wants a second - one's not good enough for Firecrestwatcher

[LynM]

Siskins...two male and one female in the last couple of days, plus a male Blackcap.

[tawny girl]

i had a female blackcap pecking at the berries on my mahonia ,but it was in my front garden not my back garden ,i have lots of stuff in the front with berries on so ill be watching in the front aswell now