As reported, we sat down for an hour on Saturday and took part in the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch 2011. What did we see?

Well, with a mug of tea and a notebook  and a laptop to finish some work while we waited, we watched the garden for an hour on Saturday morning.

We were concerned about the two fat woodpigeons turning up and scoffing all the food, as they often do, but they didn't actually make an appearance until near the end of the hour. However, the hour started off very quietly...

The blue tits were the first visitors to the garden in that time and probably the most frequent too. Then there was a robin, then two. By the end of the hour there were three robins, one pair and an obvious intruder, chased away by our regular dominant male.

We also heard the sparrows chirping but did not actually see them for a while. It was great to hear them but a little sad that they didn't pay us  a visit for a while.

But, all in all, we only saw eight species and no more than four of any single bird type. Considering we've seen ten magpies, about eight blackbirds last year, some collared doves, quite a few crows, the occasional jay, some long-tailed tits, greenfinches, goldfinches and the odd pied wagtail, it was a little disappointing... but a fair snapshot of the birds that regularly visit our garden.

Here's our list, and remember, we were only supposed to count the maximum number of a species that we saw at any one time, not in total.

• 3x Blue Tits
• 3x Robins
• 2x Dunnocks
• 2x Blackbirds
• 3x House Sparrows
• 2x Chaffinches
• 2x Wood Pigeons
• 1x Great Tit

So, until next year...