Get your binoculars and bird seed ready. This weekend is the
RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. People all over the UK will spend
an hour recording the birds they see in their garden for the
survey’s 30th anniversary. Anyone can take part and the
information the survey collects is one of the important ways the
public can help track bird numbers around the UK. The British
Trust for Ornithology (BTO) has a year-round project to gather
information on how birds use gardens, a more and more important
habitat for wild birds as other natural habitats decline. Over
the years, the RSPB survey and BTO research has shown changes in
UK bird populations. There has been an increase in, for example,
the collared dove and wood pigeon, but serious declines in the
house sparrow (Passer domesticus), song thrush (Turdus
philomelos) and starling (Sturnus vulgaris). The reasons for
many of these declines are not fully understood which makes
monitoring their numbers and distribution all the more
important. Getting the public’s help with