Just one hour every year, for the last 43 years, has made the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch the largest garden wildlife citizen science project. During that time, across the UK hundreds of thousands of people have volunteered their time providing the RSPB with over 8 million hours of monitoring garden birds. In 2020, over 500,000 birds were counted by Big Garden Birdwatchers in Scotland giving a real insight into how our birds are.

WHY TAKE PART?

Not only is it a great way to enjoy a spot of warm, winter twitching but it is also a vital opportunity for the RSPB to keep tabs on the population of British birds.

Since the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch started in 1979, a number of many species have been on the decline. These studies offer a chance to find out which species are struggling and perhaps provide clues as to why, and how they can be protected. It also supplies conservationists with data tracing those birds that are doing well.

Birds such as the house sparrow, song thrush, and starling have drastically declined since the late 1980s, while collared doves, wood pigeons, and coal tit numbers have increased.

WHAT CAN I FEED BIRDS IN MY GARDEN?

Feeding wild birds can be great fun for bird lovers of all ages. Bird feeding is a popular activity - with over half of adults in the UK feeding wild birds in their garden.

Providing your garden birds with supplementary food will bring them closer, for you to enjoy their behaviour and wonderful colours. It's also a great way to get children engaged with nature and wildlife.

Get ready for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, check out our range of suet products to start providing them with a healthy natural food source, and watch the flock in.

TAKING PART IS EASY

Here's is how it works

PICK A TIME You can choose any hour between 29 and 31 January. So whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you can still take part.

WRITE DOWN WHAT YOU SEE Count the birds that land in your garden or park, or on your balcony. Ignore any birds that are still in flight. To avoid double-counting, just record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time – not a running total.

SUBMIT YOUR RESULTS Online: You can submit your results online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch from 29 January until 19 February.
By post: If you’d rather send your results by post, you can download a submission form. Please post your results to the RSPB before 15 February.

Every count is important so, if even you don’t see anything, please still submit your result. Finding out which birds don’t visit your area is as important as understanding those which do!