Have you heard about the Big Garden Birdwatch? If so, are you going to do it?
The Big Garden Birdwatch is an example of citizen science, which means that no special skills or knowledge are required, so that anyone can take part, and each year nearly half a million people do it.
It is organised by the RSPB, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and has been running since 1979.
It is designed to give us an idea of how are garden birds are doing, year on year, and simply involves counting the birds in your garden during one hour over a long weekend at the end of January.
It has shown for example, that Great Tits have increased by 70% in our gardens since 1979, while Song Thrushes are down by 80%.
With this information, the RSPB can then look at the possible reasons why these changes have happened, which may then help suggest ways to help birds that are decreasing.
This year the Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place over the days Friday 29th, Saturday 30th, and Sunday 31st January.
You can do the birdwatch at any time, but it needs to be a continuous hour, ideally in the morning.
One important point is that you should count the most birds of one species that are in your garden at the same time, not the total number over the hour.
This is to make sure that you are not counting the same bird more than once. Having done the hour, then you send the results to the RSPB.
The best way of doing this is online, but you can post your results if you prefer. All the details and more can be found by searching online Birdwatch 21.
Why not give it try and see what you can see?
Patrick Crowley
Wokingham and Bracknell RSPB Local Group https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/groups/wokinghamandbracknell
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