Animal

People look for tits and finches across the UK for the Big Garden Birdwatch


(Picture: Getty/Metro.co.uk)

Birdwatchers have been scanning their gardens for robins and tits over the last few days and recording what they see.

Thousands of people are joining in with the largest wildlife survey in the world and noting down the birds that appear in their nearby parks and gardens.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is in its 41st year, and aims to provide a snapshot of the biodiversity of birds in Britain.

RSPB spokesman Beth Markey told Metro.co.uk: ‘We do it around this time of year because generally nature’s pantry has dried up. There’s not much in the way of food or shelter for the birds so they start coming into people’s gardens looking. ‘

‘I did it yesterday at my parents’ garden which is a bit untamed. We had lots of long-tailed tits, which are the really cute, fluffy ones with long tails. We had blue tits, great tits and coal tits, which was very exciting.  We had some house sparrows, but no finches.

‘It’s going really well so far and we are getting lots of information coming in.’

Over the years that the Big Garden Birdwatch has been running, almost 140 million birds have been counted – helping conservationists identify dramatic declines and increases in garden birds.

For example, it was one of the first surveys to alert the conservation group to the declines in numbers of song thrushes, which have declined by 76% over the four decades of the survey.

This species was a firm fixture in the top 10 in 1979 but 30 years later its numbers are less than half those recorded in 1979. By 2019, numbers of song thrushes seen in gardens have declined by 76%, coming in at number 20.

Last year, the house sparrow remained at the top of the rankings as the most commonly seen garden bird with more than 1.2 million recorded sightings.

However, Beth warned that there were only half the number of sparrows seen as when the survey started.

To take part, people just need to watch the birds in the garden or local park for one hour over the three days of the survey, taking place on January 25-27, recording the highest number of each species they see at any one time.

With the exception of red kites, which people can record if they see them flying over, only birds that land in the garden or park should be counted.

This year, experts are expecting that smaller birds such as wrens and long-tailed tits could have been doing well, as the winter weather has been warmer than usual.

However, warmer weather can also mean fewer birds seek out food and shelter in gardens as conditions are good in the countryside – so wildlife watchers may spot fewer of their usual garden visitors in the survey.

Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: ‘The data gathered by Big Garden Birdwatchers over the last 40 years has helped chart the decline and rise of numerous species since the 1970s.

‘And contributing to that important piece of citizen science is for many thousands of people a first step in becoming champions for nature.

‘More than ever we need everyone to be interested in the wildlife immediately around them – it’s endlessly fascinating.

‘And at the RSPB, we’re confident that the more time we all spend in nature, the more we will be passionate about protecting and restoring it.”

‘Close to half a million people are expected to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, and the RSPB is asking households to share their stories of how they take part.’





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