How to take part

So, you want to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch? That's really great news as it couldn't be easier to take part in, and your results will really help us.

If you're one of our regulars – welcome back, and thanks for what you're doing. If you're new, keep reading to find out just how easy doing Big Garden Birdwatch is.

When, what, where

All you need is a pen, some scrap paper (or, a printout of our handy bird ID sheet), and an hour to spend watching the birds in your garden, or local park, on either Saturday 28, or Sunday 29 January 2012.

Simply make a note of the highest number of each bird species seen in your garden or park (not flying over it) at any one time, and come back to these pages to tell us what you saw.

You can also ask questions, and share your tips for a brilliant birdwatch on our friendly Big Garden Birdwatch community group.

You can do your birdwatch on your own with a cuppa, your favourite biscuit and your feet up, or try and beat the largest group that took part in 2011: 84 adults and 2 children.

We also don't really mind where you do your count. Check out our video for some of the more unusual places that people did their 2011 birdwatch:

How you've already helped us

For over 30 years, we've been asking you to count the birds in your garden – and you've been brilliant at it.

Every year, even more of you join in with the count, and 2011 turned out to be one of our best yet. Thank you.

With results from so many gardens, we are able to create a 'snapshot' of bird numbers in each region. This is important because we've been able to see that some of our birds are disappearing in scary numbers.

We've lost more than half our house sparrows and some three-quarters of our starlings. And your results have helped highlight these dramatic declines.

However, it isn't all doom and gloom - these surveys help us spot problems, but more importantly, they are also the first step in putting things right.

We look forward to finding out what you've seen.

In the classroom

If you're a teacher or youth leader, get your whole class to take part in Big Schools' Birdwatch - our simple and fun activity for schools and youth groups that runs between 16-30 January 2012.

Last modified: 31 March 2011