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Count the wildlife Thank you for counting the
that’s counting on you wildlife that’s counting on you
Join in the conversation at
#biggardenbirdwatch
rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
Everything you need to know
to do the Big Garden Birdwatch
28-30 January 2017 The RSPB is a registered charity in England and Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654.
Front cover image: robin by Genevieve Leaper (rspb-images.com) 356-0922-16-17. ITM005238. 409434.
Relax
Sit back and welcome to the Big
Garden Birdwatch
What is it?
Since 1979, people have been watching the birds in their
garden or local park for an hour, and telling us what they’ve
seen. It’s a simple hour of watching, but we now have 37
years of data to compare against. That’s an astonishing
amount of insight into how our wildlife is faring.
Why do it?
It’s a relaxing and interesting way to spend an hour, and it
will help you to get closer to the birds and other wildlife in
your garden. What started out as a small children’s activity
in 1979 now has over half a million citizen scientists taking
part each year, and the more people that take part, the more
accurate the survey will be.
The results help us to find out what wildlife is in trouble, and
what’s thriving. Then we can take action to put things right.
Also, it means that over half a million people UK-wide are
connecting with the nature nearest to them.
Image by RSPB
“I enjoyed knowing I was doing
something useful, counting
the birds.”
What the
Birdwatch
has told us
The Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s
largest wildlife survey. Through the Birdwatch,
we know that, in our gardens since 1979,
starlings have declined by 81% and song
thrush numbers have declined by around 70%.
It also told us that in 2016, the long-tailed tit
flew into the top 10 following a mild winter –
up by 44% from 2015.
It was originally just a bird survey, but since
2014 we’ve also been asking respondents
about other wildlife that visits their garden.
Through this, we now know that only 25% of
people see hedgehogs in their garden at least
once a month.
All this information adds up to create a detailed
snapshot of how our wildlife is faring around
the UK.
Starling by Andrew Walmsley / Alamy Stock Photo Image by RSPB
“I was completely
engrossed by the birds’
acrobatics for food and
Attract
felt the time watching was
a great stress-buster.
Wonderful!”
You’ll see more birds if they know your
garden as a feeding spot.
Different birds like different kinds of foods, from shop-bought
fat balls to kitchen scraps.
From the kitchen
Try putting out grated cheese, cake, cooked potato, fruit, pastry, dried porridge
oats or sultanas. Avoid dried fruit if you have a dog, as it can be poisonous.
Birds and other wildlife also need water to drink and bathe in, so make sure
there’s always a fresh supply.
You can find more activities you can do to get ready for your Birdwatch
at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
From the RSPB shop
Sunflower hearts are full of energy for blue tits, great tits, greenfinches,
goldfinches, blackbirds and house sparrows. Put them in a feeder, on a table,
or simply sprinkle them on the ground.
Suet balls are great for blackbirds, house sparrows, starlings and robins in
winter, when birds need high-fat foods to survive the cold.
Vist rspbshop.co.uk for other bird foods and ways to give nature a home.
Greenfinches by Andrew Marshall (rspb-images.com)
Large decrease 2006–2016 2006
Greenfinch 2016
Birdwatch
results
UK
-66%
around England:
-66%
N. Ireland:
-75%
Scotland:
-67%
Wales:
-68%
the UK Large increase 2006–2016
Goldfinch
2006
2016
The Birdwatch tells us what’s
happening to garden birds both
UK-wide and closer to home. UK
Over the last 10 years we’ve seen huge changes to 89%
the numbers of greenfinches and goldfinches.
See what’s happened in your country opposite.
England: N. Ireland: Scotland: Wales:
90% 44% 91% 92%
How
“It was a
revelation to see
who visited – I’m
now hooked!”
Here’s what you need to do to be a
Big Garden Birdwatch citizen scientist
on 28, 29 or 30 January 2017.
1 5
Choose a time of day that’s Let us know what you see.
convenient for you. You’ll You can go online at
probably see more birds if rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or use
you do it early in the morning, the survey form. Remember to
but any time of day you can share your wildlife news using
do it is useful for us. #biggardenbirdwatch
To make it easier for you,
we’ve extended the event to
three days.
2
Make yourself comfortable
and watch the birds in your
garden for an hour.
3
Record the highest number of
each bird species that you see
at any one time. Then answer
the other questions about
other wildlife species that visit
your garden during the year.
4
Don’t worry if you don’t see
anything over the hour, as it’s
still really useful information.
Good luck with
your Birdwatch!
Goldfinch by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com) Blue tit by Niall Benvie (rspb-images.com)
January
Put out nutritious, high-fat foods, such as cheese, bird seeds, whole nuts,
February
Trim straggly hedges and bushes before the spring breeding season gets
bird cakes and sunflower hearts, to help birds survive. Don’t forget water too! underway. Resist the temptation to wield your clippers if there are still berries on
Your garden will be known as a tasty spot by the time the Birdwatch comes round. the bushes though – these provide birds with a food source over winter.
15 1 20 National Nestbox Week
16 2 21 National Nestbox Week
17 3 22
18 4 23
19 5 24
20 6 25
21 7 26
1 New Year’s Day 22 8 27
2 Bank Holiday 23 9 28
3 Bank Holiday (Scotland) 24 10
4 25 11
5 26 12
6 27 13
7
8 28 Count the wildlife
that’s counting on you
14
Give your garden
birds some love:
put up a nestbox.
29
9
10 15 National Nestbox Week
11 16 National Nestbox Week
12
13
14
30
31
17 BGBW results deadline
18 National Nestbox Week
19 National Nestbox Week
March
As the breeding season kicks off, birds will be on the lookout for nesting
April
Keep your bird feeders well stocked up for seed eaters such as finches and other
material. Give them a helping hand by leaving bundles of twigs, hay and moss farmland birds who often venture into gardens at this time of year for extra food.
in your garden.
1 St David’s Day
1
2 2
3
4
Keep an eye on ponds
for the first frogspawn
of the year.
3
4
5
5 6
6 7
7 8
8 9 18
9 10 19
10 21 11 20
11 22 12 21 RSPB Members’ Weekend
12 23 13 22 RSPB Members’ Weekend
13 24 14 Good Friday 23 St George’s Day
14 25 15 24
16
15 26 Mothering Sunday It’s Easter – but 25
16 27 if there are any
real Easter eggs
26
17 St Patrick’s Day 28 in your garden, 27
18 29 make sure you
don’t disturb them.
28
19 30 29
20 31 17 Easter Monday 30
May
Bring your garden to life - sow colourful, nectar-rich flowers. They’ll provide food for
June
Leave an area of your lawn uncut until late summer to create your own
bugs, bees and butterflies, plus they’ll look great too. mini-meadow. Wildlife will love you for it, and it’ll give you a bit of a rest, too.
21
Bank Holiday Today’s the longest
1 20 1 day, but birds like
2
Keep a look out 21 2 blackbirds and
sparrows still need to
for swifts returning 22 3 raise another brood.
from Africa.
23 4 22
3 24 5 23
4 25 6 24
5 26 7 25
6 27 8 26
7 28 9 27
8 29 Spring Bank Holiday 10 28
9 30 11 29
10 31 12 30
11 13
12 14
13 15
14 16
15 17
16 18 Father’s Day
17 19
18 20
19
July
Remember to keep your bird bath topped up
August
August is a great time to see pipistrelle bats in your garden. Look up to see them
during the warm summer months. The water you feeding on insects at dusk.
provide can be a lifeline for thirsty birds when
natural supplies have dried up.
1 13
2 14
1
15
3 Look out for moths
2 4 on warm summer
3 5 evenings.
20
At this time
4 of year, many 6 16
5 dragonflies are at
7 Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland) 17
their peak. Keep
6 an eye out next 8 18
7 time you’re near
9 19
a lake or pond.
8 10 20
9 21 11 21
10 22 12 22
11 23 23
12 Bank Holiday (NI) 24 24
13 25 25
14 26 26
15 27 27
16 28 28 Summer Bank Holiday (England, NI)
17 29 RSPB Big Wild Sleepout 29
18 30 RSPB Big Wild Sleepout 30
19 31 31September October
Create a water feature. Even if you don’t have space for a full-blown pond, Make your own compost and leaf piles. Not only will it be good for the garden,
a washing up bowl will provide a great place for wildlife to drink and bathe. but the compost heap itself is great for all sorts of wildlife.
1 11 1 21
2 12 2 22
3 13 3 23
4 14 4 24
5
Over the next couple 15 5 25
of weeks, watch out 16 6
for swallows and house
martins congregating 17 7 RSPB AGM & Members’ Day
before they migrate 18 8
to Africa.
6 19 9
7 20 10
8 21 11
9 22 12
10 23 13 26
24 14 27
25 15 28
26 16 29
27 17 30
31
28 18 Boo! Remember that
spiders are nature’s
29 19 pest controllers, so
30 20 don’t scare them away.November
Create a dead wood pile, using any sticks and logs.
December
This is a great time of year to get planting. Fill gaps in your garden with a tree
They’re great for insects, fungi, mosses and lichens, or shrub, such as hawthorn or holly, which are great news for birds and insects.
and if you’re lucky, a hedgehog or toad might take
up residence.
1 13
1 2 14
2 3 15
3 4 16
4 5 17
18
5
Remember, remember...
to check your bonfire for 19
hedgehogs before you 20
light it, in case they’re
hibernating in there. 18 21
6 19 22
7 20 23
8 21 24 Christmas Eve
9 22
25
Give your garden
10 23 birds a tasty
11 24 Christmas treat.
6
12 Remembrance Sunday 25 7 26 Boxing Day
13 26 8 27
14 27 9 28
15 28 10 29
16 29 11 30
17 30 St Andrew’s Day 12 31 New Year’s EveWhich birds can you see? You can use this handy counting sheet during the Big Garden Birdwatch. Please count the most you see of each species at any one time, not the total seen over the hour. Then submit your results at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or fill in and send us the survey form from the pack – don’t send this sheet! Seen something else? Go to rspb.org.uk/birdidentifier to find out what it might be. Great tit Robin Look for a black stripe down its yellow Unmistakable orange breast. Some visit front. The males have a slightly thicker from the Continent in winter. You can stripe than the females. hear its song almost any time of year. How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once? Long-tailed tit Blue tit Woodpigeon Tiny body; long tail. Known Blue is not the only colour on this tit. This large garden bird is mostly grey affectionately as “bumbarrels” in some Look out for yellow on its front, green with a white patch on its neck. Often parts of the country. Often in groups. on its back and white on its face too. on the ground hoovering up fallen seed. How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once? Goldfinch Greenfinch Magpie Look for the gold in its wings, but also Bigger than goldfinches, greenfinches This large bird will feed on scraps. the red on its head. More than one? have a chunky beak to crack seeds. Look closely and you might see purples A flock of goldfinches is called a charm. Look out for green/yellow in the wings. and greens in its iridescent feathers. How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once?
Male Female
Starling Chaffinch
Look closely in winter and you’ll see lots Male chaffinches have a pinky-orange breast, while females are more brown.
of different colours in this mostly black Both have distinctive white bars in their wings, which you can see well when
bird, including white spots. they fly. They usually prefer feeding on the ground or a birdtable.
How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once?
Male Female
House sparrow
Although still at the number one spot in the 2016 Birdwatch, results show that
house sparrows have declined by 58% since 1979. The male has a grey head,
black bib and brown streaky back, while the female is more brown all over.
How many have you seen all at once?
Collared dove Dunnock Coal tit
Look for its black neck collar. It came The dunnock is a small streaky brown Smaller than a great tit, with a black
11th in the 2016 Birdwatch, after only and grey bird. It feeds on the ground, head and white stripe down the middle
colonising the UK in the 1950s. flicking its wings nervously as it goes. at the back.
How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once? How many have you seen all at once?
Male Female
Don’t forget to submit your results
at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or fill in
the survey form from the pack and
post it back to us!
Blackbird
Males are black and females brown, both with yellow beaks.
Great tit by Steve Round, blue tit by Tony Hamblin, woodpigeon by David Kjaer (all rspb-images.
Often feed on the ground on fruit, worms or insects. com), robin (Alamy Stock Photo), magpie, goldfinch and dunnock (all dreamstime.com), male
chaffinch (thinkstock), female chaffinch, greenfinch, starling, female blackbird, male sparrow,
How many have you seen all at once? female sparrow and collared dove (all shutterstock), long-tailed tit, male blackbird and coal tit (all
123rf.com). The RSPB is a registered charity in England and Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654.
356-0922-16-17.For you For the birds
Birdwatch Bird cake
biscuits You will need:
• Yogurt pots • Mixing bowl
You will need: • String • RSPB bird seed
• Scissors • Raisins
• 170g/6oz butter • 260g/9oz plain flour • Suet or lard • Grated cheese
• 170g/6oz brown sugar • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 170g/6oz caster sugar • 85g/3oz oats
1. Using scissors, make a hole in the bottom of the yogurt pot.
• 1 egg • 85g/3oz sunflower seeds
2. Thread string through the hole and tie a knot on the inside.
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
Leave enough string so that you can tie the pot to your tree or a birdtable.
1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas Mark 6. 3. Allow the lard to warm to room temperature, cut it up into small pieces,
2. Grease and line a baking tray. and add to a bowl.
3. Cream together butter, brown sugar and caster sugar. 4. Add the other ingredients to the bowl, and mix them together with
4. Add the egg and vanilla extract, and beat. your fingertips.
5. Add flour, bicarbonate of soda and oats, and mix well, 5. Keep adding the seeds, raisins and cheese, and knead until it is all held
blending in sunflower seeds. together by the fat.
6. Knead to a smooth paste. 6. Fill the yogurt pot with the bird cake mixture, and put it in the fridge
7. Form into 2.5cm (1 inch) rounds, spaced 2.5cm (1 inch) apart. to set for an hour or two.
8. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, until golden brown. 7. Hang your bird cakes from trees or your bird table. Watch out
9. Cool on a wire rack, and enjoy with your RSPB coffee whilst you take for greenfinches, tits, and even great spotted woodpeckers.
part in the Birdwatch.
10. Feed any leftover sunflower seeds to your birds. NB: Don’t use raisins if you have a dog, as they are poisonous to them.
Count the wildlife Count the wildlife
that’s counting on you that’s counting on you
Cookies by Shutterstock Birdcake image by Eleanor Bentall (rspb-images.com). The RSPB is a registered charity in England and Wales 207076, in Scotland
SC037654. 356-0922-16-17. ITM005236. 409432.Count the wildlife
that’s counting on you
1 Visit rspb.org.uk/birdwatchhowto to see just how easy it is to
take part, and download our bird ID sheet to help you work out
who’s who.
2 Watch the birds in your garden or local park for one hour. Big Garden Birdwatch
3 Count the birds that land in your garden/park, not those flying over.
4 The same birds may land more than once. To avoid counting them Enjoy an hour in the company of nature
twice, please submit the highest number you see of each bird during 28–30 January 2017 and be part
species at any one time in the hour – not the total number you of the world’s largest wildlife survey.
count over the hour.
5 Use this form to tell us what you’ve seen, even if you saw nothing Thank you for taking part – your results
– it’s still really useful information! Tell us about other wildlife too. will help us work out how nature is doing
6 Please complete and return this form to the FREEPOST address right across the UK.
shown below, or enter your results at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
How often do you see other wildlife?
Name of bird Most seen at one time You may not see the creatures below in your hour (especially
hedgehogs, slow worms and grass snakes, which may be
Blackbird................................................................................
hibernating), but we’d like to know if any have visited your
Blue tit...................................................................................
garden or local park in the last year and, if so, roughly how
Chaffinch............................................................................... often. Please put the appropriate letter (below) in each box.
Coal tit................................................................................... Please don’t leave any boxes blank. If you don’t know write “F”.
Collared dove........................................................................
Dunnock................................................................................ A = Daily, B = Weekly, C = Monthly, D = Less than monthly,
Goldfinch............................................................................... E = Never, F = Don’t know
Great tit................................................................................. Stag beetle Fox
Greenfinch............................................................................. Grass snake Hedgehog
House sparrow...................................................................... Mole (or molehills) Great crested newt
Long-tailed tit....................................................................... Slow worm Stoat
Magpie...................................................................................
Some species are not found in all parts of the UK.
Robin......................................................................................
Starling.................................................................................. How many people took part? Where did you do the
Adults Children
Big Garden Birdwatch?
Woodpigeon..........................................................................
Postcode
Other species
We respect your privacy and will not sell your personal data to any
third party. The RSPB and RSPB Sales Ltd will use your details to tell
Please use CAPITAL letters. you about our conservation and fundraising, to run your membership,
Title (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, etc) to conduct analysis and to contact you for research purposes. If you
do not wish to receive marketing information in the following ways,
First name please tick the relevant box:
Last name Mail Telephone Email Text
Address For further information on the full range of our activities and your
privacy choices, please go to the Privacy Policy on our website
rspb.org.uk or contact Supporter Services on 01767 693680.
Town
Please let us know your results by: 17 February 2017
County/Council area
Postcode Online at: rspb.org.uk/birdwatch
Telephone and use code: BH09
Mobile Or to return your form by post, please put it in an envelope
Email (over 18s only) and simply write FREEPOST RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch
Date of birth (if under 18) / / on the front.
The results of this year’s Birdwatch will be released in March and summarised on our website.
If you let us know your email address (above) we will send the results straight to your inbox. Image by Andrew Parkinson (rspb-images.com).
The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 207076, in Scotland SC037654. 356-0736-16-17 BWHNAM0098You can also read
