Keep a beady eye on garden birds (From Worcester News)

Keep a beady eye on garden birds

7:40am Monday 9th January 2012 in News

ALL eyes will be on gardens later this month as the biggest bird watching event in the world takes place.

The RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch, now in its 33rd year, takes place on January 28 and 29.

Last year more than 600,000 people took part in the event, with 7,761 Worcestershire people pitching in with their own bird statistics.

It often provides the charity with its first indicator of how well UK birds have fared during the previous breeding system and over winter.

Recent harsh winters have seen some garden bird populations drop, only to make a comeback after a good breeding season the following year.

In 2010 and 2011, some of the UK’s smallest garden birds bounced back, and the wildlife charity wants to know whether they have managed to maintain their numbers.

Sarah Houghton, birdwatch project manager, said: “Taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch not only helps the RSPB track the ups and down of garden birds, but it gives participants the perfect excuse to sit down with a cup of tea and enjoy the wildlife that they share their outside space with.”

During last year’s event, more than 10 million birds were spotted.

Creeping up in the rankings is the goldfinch, which in recent years has been a familiar sight in the top 15 species of birds recorded per garden in the UK.

But despite battling with each other to be top of the Big Garden Birdwatch table for the past 30 years, there are fewer house sparrows and starlings in our gardens.

Ms Houghton said: “It’s important that we keep a close eye on how our birds are faring. With so many people stepping up and taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch, if a pattern emerges, we take it seriously.”

For more details, visit trspb. org.uk/birdwatch, or call 0300 4568330.