The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is the world's biggest bird survey and continues to inspire and encourage hundreds of thousands of people to get involved and watch the birds in their gardens and local parks. In 2007, over 400,000 people took part by counting the birds in their garden for an hour and they recorded more than 6 million birds! The information helps the RSPB prioritise its conservation work. The declines seen over time highlight which birds need our help. For instance, one change that we have seen that is cause for concern is the song thrush. In 2007, the song thrush dropped out of the top 20 garden birds to number 24 and was seen in less than 10 percent of gardens. There is good news as well, though. The results of recent Big Garden Birdwatches show that some of our garden birds are increasing in numbers. Woodpigeons, collared doves, blue-tits, great-tits, coal-tits and long-tailed tits are all doing well and are now regulars in the top 15. Blackbirds, blue-tits and robins were seen in more than 80 percent of gardens during the 2007 survey.

How to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch
Big Garden Birdwatch is relaxing and great fun to do. It's also a fantastic way to get kids interested in birds and nature. All you need to do is watch the birds in your garden or a local park for one hour over the weekend 26-27 January.

The RSPB provides a counting sheet that you can download from www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. Record the highest number of species you see in your garden (not flying over) at any one time during the hour. Make sure you don't count the total number of birds you see during the hour as some birds will return to your garden frequently in that period of time. It's the highest number of a species at one time that we are after. Also, please don't worry if you don't see many birds - this information is still useful to us! From 26 January, you will be able to enter your results online. To help you, the counting sheet has pictures of the most common birds that you are likely to see in a garden. Here are some other useful tips:

1. If you have one, set up your bird feeder or table near a window so you can see the visiting birds more easily.
2. If you don't have a garden, visit the local park and do your count there or, if you live in a flat, put a feeder on your window and count the birds that visit.
3. By doing your count first thing in the morning, you will increase your chances of seeing more birds as they tend to be more active at this time.
4. Try putting out a selection of foods to attract different types of birds. Include peanuts (please use a wire mesh feeder for these), seeds, fat and scraps from the kitchen.
5. Don't worry if you don't note all the birds, just record those you can identify clearly. And, remember, just count the highest number of birds you see at any one time.
6. As well as helping you to identify birds, the counting sheet will also help tally the numbers of each species you see.
7. Submit your results online - it's quick and easy to do plus it saves us money so more can go to helping wild birds.
8. Big Garden Birdwatch is a brilliant excuse to take an hour of "me time" so why not use it!

Home is where the birds are - Photo of House Martins by kind permission Brett D Adams ©