How Big Garden Birdwatch is helping hedgehog conservation

Henry Johnson, Hedgehog Officer at People's Trust for Endangered Species, explains how the survey's hedgehog records have made a real difference to his work.

"No-one can deny that the world of wildlife recording is complex, and we find ourselves in a transitional period as digital platforms and apps come to the fore. A future where information about wildlife is updated in real time, and freely available to all, should be the goal for our sector."

"That's why it was hugely encouraging to be approached by Daniel Hayhow and his Big Garden Birdwatch team and offered hedgehog records from this monumental survey."

"As we know, hedgehogs are currently declining precipitously in the UK. In November, People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) launched the State of Britain's Hedgehogs 2015, the headline of which was that since 2000, rural hedgehog populations have declined by at least a half and urban populations by up to a third in the same period".

"The value of Big Garden Birdwatch is that it has dramatically improved our understanding of where hedgehogs are in the UK."

"In the last two years, around 42,000 more dots have been added to our national distribution map. For an animal that is in rapid decline, the half-life for distribution data is short, so collaborating with the RSPB has greatly improved the accuracy with which we can work."

"It also massively helps with volunteer engagement, as volunteering for our Hedgehog Street campaign is a more enticing prospect when you know that these spiny creatures are stalking the streets in your neighbourhood after dark. Many people do not realise that they still have hedgehogs as local residents — for now at least."

Source: Henry Johnson, Hedgehog Officer, People's Trust for Endangered Species

Did you know?

• We started asking the public to record other wildlife they see in their gardens as part of Big Garden Birdwatch back in 2014. As a well established survey with a wide geographical reach, this data has proven useful to a number of other specialist conservation organisations, including The Mammal Society and The Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust.
• We introduce some different species to the survey's 'other wildlife' section every year. This year, we'll be asking people to tell us if they see species including hedgehogs, badgesr, grey and red squirrels, foxes, stoats, slow worms and grass snakes.