RSPB announces Big Garden Birdwatch 2024
The Big Garden Birdwatch first alerted RSPB to declining numbers of song thrushes.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has announced that the next Big Garden Birdwatch will take place on the last weekend of January.
From 26-28 January, the nature conservation charity is asking people to watch and count the birds that they see in their garden, balcony or local park, and send the results to the RSPB.
The Big Garden Birdwatch is the largest garden wildlife survey in the world, and will provide the RSPB with data to support their understanding of how garden birds’ populations have changed in the UK.
Participants are asked to spend one hour during the three-day period in their garden, on their balcony or in a park counting the number of each bird species that land, and not those that fly over. They should then tell the RSPB the highest number of each bird species they see at each time, rather than the total number of birds they have seen.
The next Big Garden Birdwatch marks 45 years of the wildlife survey, which first began in 1979. Since it started, participants have logged nearly 11.5 million hours of bird-watching, and counted 185 million birds.
The Big Garden Birdwatch 2023 saw over half a million bird-watchers take part in the survey, counting more than nine million birds between them.
The house sparrow celebrated its 20th year as the most spotted bird in UK gardens in 2023, with 1.5 million logged during the January weekend. However the species has still seen a significant decline, with a 60 per cent decline since the first Birdwatch.
The long-tailed tit saw a 39 per cent increase in numbers since 2022, bringing it up five places to become the 10th most logged bird in 2023. The number of long-tailed tits recorded in the Birdwatch has fluctuated since the survey began, and so the RSPB are keen to see how the species has fared this year.
It was the results of a Big Garden Birdwatch which first alerted the charity to declining numbers of song thrushes, which have declined 80 per cent since 1979. In 2023, they were logged in just nine per cent of gardens.
Beccy Speight, the RSPB’s chief executive, said: “By taking part in the Birdwatch you are joining hundreds of thousands of people from across the UK, united in a love of nature, to play an important role in helping us understand how our UK birds are doing. Big Garden Birdwatch demonstrates the power that people have when they come together for nature.
“Join us for Big Garden Birdwatch 2024 and together let’s take action to help birds and other wildlife thrive for generations to come.”
Image © RSPB
Two independent vets have launched a podcast to help owners strengthen their bond with pets. Dr Maggie Roberts and Dr Vanessa Howie, who have worked in both veterinary practice and major charities, are keen to use their experience to enable people to give pets a better life.
