Things to look out for in the garden - Big Garden Birdwatch and how to take part

Big Garden Birdwatch is now in its twenty-eighth year, and in 2006 had more than 450,000 participants. This survey started as a practical project for children who were members of the Young Ornithologists' Club, now known as Wildlife Explorers in 1979, when members were asked to count the birds in their gardens, all at the same time, so the RSPB could work out a UK top ten most common garden birds.

The RSPB still asks people to spend an hour counting the birds they see in their garden during the last weekend in January. It actually took the RSPB scientists some time to appreciate that the data, gathered almost completely by amateurs, was recording accurate population dynamics of garden birds - which has been used to follow many populations, most notably the decline and partial recovery of the song thrush.

In 2006, the survey broke all previous records with 270,000 gardens being surveyed.

It's easy to take part - you don't even have to get out of your chair! You can do your watch at any time on either Saturday 27 or Sunday 28 January 2007, the time of day doesn't matter. All you need is pen, paper and an hour to spare.

1. Get pen and paper to help you record what you see
2. During the hour, write down the highest number of each species that you see at one time
3. Go online and submit your results at the RSPB website http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/takepart/index.asp - but note that the form won't be live until 27 January.

Mistlethrush nest photograph by mattfoster, used under a creative commons attribution licence.

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