No. Big Garden Birdwatch is for everyone and it is free to take part. All you need to do is spend one hour between Friday 28 and Sunday 30 January counting the birds you see in your garden, local park or from your balcony then tell us what you saw.

Yes, you can get together with friends or family to do Big Garden Birdwatch and count the birds you see together. However, you should only give us one set of results. If more than one group member submits results that would mean that we have more than one set of the same results.

If, however, your group all plan to do Big Garden Birdwatch separately from different locations, then you would need to add separate results.

No. The time of day you do your Birdwatch may affect the numbers and variety of birds you see but it won’t affect the overall results. This is because there are so many people counting birds at different times over three days. We also get asked about things like weather and food but because the results are based on information from so many people doing the Birdwatch the effects of weather, food and time all even themselves out – incredible isn’t it!

Yes and no! To take part in Big Garden Birdwatch, we ask you to spend one hour counting the birds you see in one location – from your garden, balcony or in your local park. We can only acept one birdwatch per person/per location, if you want to do more than one birdwatch over the weekend just make sure you do it from a different location and remember to add the location of your birdwatch when you tell us your results.

Big Garden Birdwatch provides a snapshot in time of how garden birds are doing in the UK. It is held at a similar time every year so that we can compare the results with previous years. The number of birds visiting gardens and parks varies throughout the year, so it’s better that everyone counts over the same long weekend. This year Big Garden Birdwatch is from Friday 28 to Sunday 30 January.

Because that’s the time of the year garden birds need us most – if it’s really cold, it’s likely more birds will come into our gardens looking for shelter and food. This makes is easier to count the birds. Because the Birdwatch takes place at the same time every year, we can look back through the years to see if anything has changed.

Big Garden Birdwatch asks people from all over the UK to count the birds they see. Because the UK is such a big area, it is likely that the weather will vary from place to place. Somewhere it may be raining, somewhere it could be sunny, and elsewhere there might be frost. However, because so many people are counting birds from so many different places, any impact is likely to be evened out. Also because the Birdwatch takes place over more than one day, it helps us ensure that we get a good snapshot of how birds are faring.

You can take part in the Birdwatch by simply counting the birds you see and going online to tell us what you saw. However, we know some people prefer to use a guide, and you can sign up to get yours now. Please take a look at the guide before printing, as it may be that you don’t need to print it. Every piece of paper saved is better for nature! Alternatively, we can post you a printed guide - fill in our sign up form for your copy.

We start sending out guides in early January. We're really sorry if you don't receive yours in time for the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. However, you can still take part online. If you prefer to use a guide, you can download one using the links below. Please take a look at the guide before printing, as it may be that you don’t need to print it. Every piece of paper saved is better for nature!

English guide

Welsh guide

We are keen that everyone is welcome to take part in Big Garden Birdwatch and sometimes send our members or people who have taken part previously reminders about the Birdwatch. When you register to take part if you opt into our emails, we will be able to send you the latest Big Garden Birdwatch news, plus remind you when it is taking place next year!

Please tell us what you saw at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch before 20 February. By giving us your results online, you’re helping us to spend more on saving nature as it reduces our costs. However, if you prefer to post us your results, you can print and complete the form found in the guide, and send it back to reach us by 15 February. Please take a look at the guide before printing, as it may be that you don’t need to print it all. Every piece of paper saved is better for nature!

The easiest way to tell us what you saw is by adding your results online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch This helps us to spend more on nature as it reduces our costs – and it saves postage and paper. However, if you prefer to post us your results, you can print and complete the form found in the guide, and send it back to reach us by 15 February. Please take a look at the guide before printing, as it may be that you don’t need to print it all. Every piece of paper saved is better for nature!

Unfortunately, we do have limited space on the paper guide and the list of species that people may see in the UK is huge! However, you can include other birds you see in the free text box on the form or, better still, go online to add your results where we have a much longer list of birds available to add to your record. We love to hear about the birds you’ve seen – and we review the birds included on the guides every year.