Part 1 of GoodGym Portsmouth's Big Garden Birdwatch saw 3 GoodGymers meeting up at the People's Memorial in Milton Common this cloudy morning!

Firstly we want to say a huge welcome to Tom on his first Good deed - go give him a cheer! He's already wowed us with his bird naming skills and old school binoculars! :)

Secondly a big thanks to Lynn who couldn't make today but kindly lent us a chair, bird watching books, binoculars and a fancy rain resisting clipboard that certainly came in handy!

In the beginning we were worried our list of birds would consist of pigeons and the doves who live at the memorial.. but luckily over the hour we managed to see around 10 different species! Perhaps the bird feeders hanging in the trees around gave us an unfair advantage!

On top of the pigeons, we spotted terns, ducks, blue (and a couple great!) tits, followed by a few small brown birds - which Tom described as the bane of bird watching as it's hard to identify which small brown bird they were! So yes, we aren't sure of the species, but noted descriptions such as "white collared neck" or "speckled back". I believe the highlight for all of us was the mini flock of goldfinches we spotted with their bright red faces and yellow striped wings! Sadly all these small birds were too quick for our camera skills.

Once our hour has wrapped up we all set off by foot or bike to attempt to warm up from the exciting but chilly morning!