Garden favourites among 1.3m birds spotted in RSPB’s survey
MORE THAN a million birds have been spotted in the nation’s gardens in the RSPB’s annual three-day survey.
The house sparrow, starling, blue tit, wood pigeon and blackbird are the top species that have been seen since the Big Garden Birdwatch began on Friday.
Organisers from the RSPB, who bill the event as the world’s largest garden wildlife survey, said that by 4pm on Saturday some 1.3m birds had been spotted and 75,000 people had taken part in the project. The survey ended yesterday.
The public were asked to spend an hour watching and recording the birds in their garden, balcony or local park and to send their results to the RSPB.
The organisation said enthusiasm for the project is strong as garden birds give many people an important connection to the wider natural world.
Wildlife presenter Stephen Moss said: “It enthuses anyone, wherever they live, in the city, the countryside or the suburbs, whether they are watching alone or with their family or partner.
“The results are really, really valuable.”
He added: “The populations, the numbers and the distribution of many of our commonest garden birds have radically changed.
“Birds like the goldfinch and the long-tailed tit, which used to only be occasional garden visitors, are now very common, and other birds like the house sparrow and the starling are certainly declining in numbers, even though they’re still fairly high up the league table.”
The RSPB’s chief executive, Beccy Speight, said there is a climate and biodiversity crisis which is “intimately linked” to the need to find solutions.
She said: “I always describe it as like a giant game of jenga.
“Nobody knows quite how many species you can carelessly knock out of the tower before the whole ecosystem starts to crumble.”
Results from the Big Garden Birdwatch survey are due to be published in the spring.