… one of the largest citizen science projects in the world.
“What will you see?”
.
This is the “world’s largest garden wildlife survey” – and it starts up again next weekend:
- In 2021, more than a million people across the UK took part – making it the biggest Birdwatch ever!
- 17 million birds were counted over a three-day period with the house sparrow keeping its title as the UK’s most seen bird.
- Over its four decades, Big Garden Birdwatch has highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world, giving the RSPB an astonishing amount of insight into how our wildlife is faring.
What will you see in the Big Garden Birdwatch?
There’s a lot of help and guidance from the RSPB for this year’s survey:
Be wowed by your local wildlife. Big Garden Birdwatch is for everyone, whether you’re a complete beginner or a birding expert. Simply count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour between 28 and 30 January 2022…
Big Garden Birdwatch | The RSPB
And if you are doing your birdwatch in the Sid Valley, do post your findings to the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group too:
sidvalleybiodiversity@yahoo.com
Here’s a look at how last year’s survey went in these parts – from Ed Dolphin of the SVBG:
The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (BGB) is one of the largest citizen science projects in the world. For the last 40 years, thousands of volunteers have submitted data on the birds visiting their garden at the end of January. In 2020, nearly half a million people recorded nearly 8 million birds during the last weekend in January. The study focuses on 15 of the most common species, but sightings of other species are recorded also.
Over the years, this data has allowed the RSPB to track major changes in the urban bird populations. For example, it has recorded a 76% decline in Song Thrushes visiting gardens, while there was an increase in sightings of smaller bird species such as Long-Tailed Tits, Wrens, and Coal Tits, up by 14%, 13% and 10% respectively from 2019 to 2020. Of course, the data is just the start. It is used to plan work across the country to support our birds.
One of the most important impacts of the birdwatch is the raised engagement of the human population. It becomes part of the ‘many small actions making a big difference’ effect that is one of the founding principles of the Sid Valley Biodiversity Group. Having birds visit your garden is a true delight and the publicity around the BGB encourages people to make provision in their gardens that supports birds through the winter, they put out food, they provide access to water, and they create nesting sites…
RSPB Garden Watch 2021 – A Local Perspective – Sid Valley Biodiversity Group