More than half a million people from across the UK are set to take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch by counting the birds in their gardens over the weekend of 30-31 January 2016. They’ll also make a record of the other wildlife they see throughout the year, providing a vital snapshot of UK nature.
The largest wildlife survey in the world, the Big Garden Birdwatch has been running for over 30 years, and last year 585,000 people took part and over 8.5 million birds were counted. Despite its much-publicised decline in numbers, the House Sparrow was the commonest bird in last year’s count, averaging over 4 sparrows per garden. The most widespread bird was the Blackbird, recorded in over 90% of gardens where counts took place. In London, the Woodpigeon was the commonest bird, with an average of 2.6 per garden, while the Robin (see photo above) was most widespread, being seen in 84% of gardens.
To join in, all you need to do is to count birds in your garden or local park for one hour on 30 or 31 January.
Record the highest number of each species that you see at one time and send in the results to the RSPB. You can submit your counts online or send them in on paper. See the RSPB website for full details of how to take part.
