Become a scientist

CITIZEN science has been with us for centuries but the term was first used in 1989. Projects based on citizen science include the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, the largest garden wildlife survey in the world, which first started in 1979. Over its 45 years it has seen many changes, including declines in some species and increases in others.

Last year there were some 540,000 participants and more than 9 million birds were counted. House Sparrow has been the most frequently encountered bird for 20 consecutive years, despite a decline of nearly 60%. Longtailed Tit flitted into 10th place with numbers up 39% on the previous year. Big winners since 1979 include Woodpigeon, now firmly ensconced at fourth place (more than 1,000% up on 1979), Magpie at ninth (up 20%), Collared Dove at 15th (up 200%) and Coal Tit at 17th (up 204%). Greenfinch has fallen to 18th with a 62% decline in the last decade. In 2023, European Robin was the most widespread species, seen in 85% of gardens, closely followed by Blackbird (83%) and Blue Tit (78%). Song Thrush is now sadly only seen in 9% of gardens.

In 2024, the Big Garden Birdwatch will run from 26-28 January, and every birder should take part. You only have to watch a garden or local green space for one hour over the three days. For more information go to rspb.org.

uk/birdwatch. Beccy Speight, RSPB Chief Executive, said: “Big Garden Birdwatch demonstrates the power that people have when they come together for nature. By taking part in the Birdwatch, you and hundreds of thousands of others like you, play an important role in helping us to understand how UK birds are doing.”

There are many other citizenscience wildlife projects which all birders should try to use. These include the following, all available as smartphone apps:

BirdTrack (bto.org/birdtrack) Keep your records here when birding in the UK while adding important information to BTO science. Not just birds but a wide range of other taxa, which are linked to iRecord.

iRecord (irecord.org.uk)

Upload UK and Irish wildlife sightings into this app, available for a wide range of wildlife groups.

eBird (ebird.org)

Keep all of your birding records from around the world in the global database. Easy to find information when planning birding trips abroad.

iNaturalist (inaturalist.org)

Upload sightings from anywhere and reviewers will help to ID them. Covers a wide range of wildlife. Chris Harbard