RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place at the end of the month! Sparrows, blackbirds, robins, how many will you spot in your green space? Half a million people took part last year and both Fairburn and St Aidan’s are hosting events to get you and your family prepared to welcome and record birds into your garden or local park.
As a new volunteer with RSPB I threw myself in the deep end and recently helped out at the bird feeder making event at Fairburn on Saturday 13th. I wanted to find out how we can do that bit extra in the winter months to help our garden species.
Big Garden Birdwatch pack to get started, all I need is coffee and cake! As we got our hands messy at Fairburn stuffing seeds and fat into pine cones for birds, we were able to engage with children and parents about the how they can help out their garden birds over the winter months and attract and record as many species as possible.
The Aire valley and reserves all over the UK are holding fun events like bird feeder making and quizzes running up to next weekend and here’s how you can get involved.
St Aidan’s feeder making event is on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st at 11am until 3pm. Expect to get sticky hands and smiling faces with a energy filled feeder you can take home for your garden. Get yourself inspired by having a sit down in our Birdwatch lounges and pick up some tips about attracting more species to your green space from our helpful staff.
Getting hands stuck in and messy with pinecones and seeds (and a few Cheerios too!)
We used Trex fat, mixed seeds and a few Cheerios and raisins for the perfect bird dinner
Events like these are highly important to spread awareness of the Big Garden Birdwatch and get as many people involved as possible. All it requires is one hour over the weekend of the 27th to 29th to sit down and note the different species of birds that you see. It can be done at home, school or even on your lunch break at work. This task as a citizen scientist means that the RSPB can collect data of the current state of wildlife in the UK. You can pick up a leaflet from our visitor centres, download a free pack online or fill in the form on the RSPB website.
Don’t worry if you don't have a huge green garden, I personally only have a yard and no trees to hang feeders from. Driveways, patios and even a window box can be helpful to visiting birds. You can sprinkle food under bushes or leave a plate out on a wall or in the open (well away from lurking house cats). This will attract birds that prefer groundfeeding like blackbirds and robins. Any space can be adapted and the birds will come to you.
I made this bird feeder from an enamel mug filled with tasty treats to hang outside from a basket hanger
Fat or suet balls, mixed seeds, crunchy wholenut peanut butter, porridge oats, meal worms and dried fruit are all suitable and loved in the winter for their high energy content for birds
After the watch is over the big count begins. When we send off our findings either by post or online, the busy bees at RSPB headquarters collate all the data and make it into a map of bird activity across the UK. looking scientifically at the abundance and distribution of species and then releasing this information to the public means we’ll be better equipped to help certain birds in the future. This is why its important we get as many people to chip in and have a greater detailed map of garden life.
To learn more about the Big Garden Birdwatch and how you can help the RSPB visit https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/
See more of our events, news and blogs online at http://ww2.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/fairburnings/default.aspx (Fairburn Ings) or https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/st-aidans/ (St. Aidan's)