DO you know your sparrows from your siskins? Can you spot a greenfinch or a blackbird? Then get ready to take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
Participants are asked to count the birds in their gardens, record the information and send it to the RSPB so they can work out the UK’s top 10 most common garden birds.
The event was first held in1979 as a simple winter activity for RSPB’s junior members to get involved in.
Blue Peter featured the survey on one of their programmes and it was so popular the RSPB received more than 34,000 forms.
The one-off activity grew into the regular event it is today and from 2001 adults have been invited to join in the fun too.
With over half a million people now regularly taking part, coupled with almost 40 years’ worth of data, Big Garden Birdwatch allows the RSPB to monitor trends and understand how birds are doing.
As the format of the survey has stayed the same, the scientific data can be compared year-on-year, making your results very valuable to scientists.
Your results help the RSPB spot problems, but more importantly, they are the first step in putting things right.
For the latest event, registration opens on December 12 ahead of the event in January.
To find out more and register, visit the website: www.rspb.org.uk. Also share your experiences on social media and use the hashtag #BigGardenBirdwatch.
You must be logged in to post a comment.