How to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch

1. Pick a time
   You can choose any hour between 29 and 31 January. So whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, you can still take part.
   
   
2. Tell us what you see 
   Count the birds you see in your garden or from your balcony*. Ignore any birds that are still in flight. To avoid double-counting, just record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time – not a running total.
   
   *This year our advice is to take part in the safety of your own home. This could include a birdwatch from your window if you overlook a green space or courtyard.
3. Submit your results
   Online: You can submit your results online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch from 29 January until 19 February.
   By post: If you’d rather send your results by post, you can download a submission form below. Please post your results to us before 15 February.

Every count is important so, if you don’t see anything, please still submit your result. Finding out which birds don’t visit your area is as important as understanding those which do!

See our resources below for printable bird ID sheets to help you, or posters you can display to show you're taking part.

Thanks to people like you taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, we now have over 40 years of data and this has helped increase our understanding of the challenges faced by wildlife.

It was one of the first surveys to identify the decline of song thrushes in gardens. This species was a firm fixture in the top 10 in 1979. But by 2019, those numbers had declined by 76% – coming in at number 20. And did you know that house sparrow sightings have dropped by 53% since the first Birdwatch in 1979? However, in the past 10 years their numbers have grown by 10% showing that we are beginning to see some signs of recovery.

Results like these help us spot problems. But, more importantly, they are the first step towards putting things right.