RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch
January can feel like an odd time of year.
The excitement and anticipation of Christmas with all its festivities and lights feel like a distant memory, unlike the treats and indulgencies hanging around our waists as a result of it.
It’s cold, it’s dark, and the media tells us we should all be drinking kale smoothies, exercising and thinking about booking a summer holiday.
I have to admit, Winter isn’t my favourite time of year, but it soon goes and I find my mood being lifted by spotting the buds forming on the trees and the shoots peeping up through the earth. It’s a reminder that spring and new life is on its way. The light changes and you feel different somehow.
Big Garden Birdwatch
January is the time of the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. It’s the perfect opportunity to stop dreaming of spring and be in the moment.
Although it’s not perfect science, it gets the general public involved and reconnecting with nature around them – and that can only be a good thing.
What is it?
The idea if you’ve not taken part, is to get a snapshot of how our feathered friends are faring. You grab yourself a cuppa and a comfortable spot where you can see your outside space – a garden, yard or even the local park.
When is it?
Between 23rd and 25th January
Give yourself an hour and see who you spot. There’s a handy ID chart download they’ve created so you can recognise who they are.
How does it work?
Write them down and mark next to them how many there were at that one time you saw them. So for instance, if there are 3 Blackbirds, write down 3. If you see another Blackbird later on, then 3 is still the number to use.
If later on you see 4, then you’d scrap the 3 and use 4. If you see one Magpie, then they fly away and you see another later on, you’d still only class it as one.
I guess this is so as to avoid counting the same bird twice. Like I say, it’s not perfect science.
Don’t count any that are just flying over, they need to land if they’re to count.
How to take part
You’ll need to register here - https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch and submit your results before the 22nd February online (They’ll send you a link if you’re registered)
2025 Results
In 2025, over 590,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, and the House Sparrow took the top spot, followed by the Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Starling and Blackbird.
Don’t worry if you don’t spot everyone on the list. You can have your very own birdwatch in the comfort of your own home, every day. You don’t have to feed these, they won’t fly away AND you can stroke them!