RSPB Northern Ireland is encouraging local people to take part
in the world’s biggest wildlife survey later this month.
The
Big Garden Birdwatch is a chance for everyone to help nature by
donating just one hour to count the birds and other wildlife in their
gardens. The data gathered from this survey provides a vital
health-check of the wildlife that makes its home here.
In
2016 around half a million people counted the feathered friends in
their patch, including a record 35,000 people across Northern Ireland.
Starlings swooped into top spot here after being seen in almost 70 per
cent of gardens and green spaces. Now
this year, for the first time, the charity is extending the Big Garden
Birdwatch weekend by another day to give even more people the chance to
get involved.
Just visit the Birdwatch website (www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch)
and spend one hour counting the birds you see at any time during 28, 29
or 30 January. You can use the handy online bird counting tool on the
website to identify and record the birds as you see them directly on
your laptop, tablet or smartphone. They’d also love you to log some of
the other wildlife you see in your garden – from squirrels to hedgehogs.
Top ten bird species spotted in NI during Big Garden Birdwatch 2016:
Species
|
Mean
|
Rank
|
% gardens
|
|
Starling
|
5.39
|
1
|
69.5
|
|
House sparrow
|
5.38
|
2
|
61.7
|
|
Chaffinch
|
3.89
|
3
|
68.1
|
|
Blue tit
|
2.54
|
4
|
76.0
|
|
Blackbird
|
2.48
|
5
|
89.3
|
|
Great tit
|
2.20
|
6
|
65.5
|
|
Goldfinch
|
2.10
|
7
|
33.1
|
|
Robin
|
1.73
|
8
|
91.3
|
|
Magpie
|
1.50
|
9
|
66.6
|
|
Coal tit
|
1.47
|
10
|
54.3
|
|
Greenfinch, one of the species in decline from our gardens:
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