Does anyone else wish this could be spread over several days so that you have the choice of which day you do it?
I always have a problem with a weekend count simply because there is far more human "traffic" in my neighbour's yard and garden. As a result, if I participated it would give a wholly untrue figure because it is not unusual for me to see no birds whatsoever on a Saturday or Sunday, whereas Monday to Friday they are non-stop visitors.
If it ran from, say, Monday to Sunday that would give folk like me with "weekend-busy" adjoining gardens the chance to count on a weekday but would also still allow those folk at work Monday to Friday to participate by doing their count over the weekend.
Squirrel
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Hi Squirrel
I couldn't agree more, I have been doing the Bird Watch since it started and always complain that the birds which are in my garden every day know something's up and can't be spotted anywhere. I'm relieved I'm not the only one who has the same problem. Although you have just given me an idea why they don't turn up - I hadn't thought that it could be to do with extra activity in the garden at weekends from the neighbours (Doh!)
Regards
Kezmo
Kerry
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kezmo6310/
Hi Kezmo... good to know someone else has the same problem as me - I was beginning to think I was the only one!
Yes, I am thinking that too. People have such flexible lives now, and there is room to change the rules a little to suit everyone's needs.
I have always done my count over the weekends, and that is how I have done it (RSPB rules) . My OH works during the weekend, and we do the 'project' together at the weekend. It makes live easier for us, but maybe not so easy for other people.
The downfall with the weekends is there is more noise at the weekends. There are more distractions around so the birds (like the Woodpigeons) which are very flighty, cause all the birds to fly off at the slightest noise.
So weekdays to me would be best for peace and quiet to me, and I would so the count during the week if the chance was there to do so.
Kathy and Dave
Squirrel B said: Does anyone else wish this could be spread over several days so that you have the choice of which day you do it? I always have a problem with a weekend count simply because there is far more human "traffic" in my neighbour's yard and garden. As a result, if I participated it would give a wholly untrue figure because it is not unusual for me to see no birds whatsoever on a Saturday or Sunday, whereas Monday to Friday they are non-stop visitors. If it ran from, say, Monday to Sunday that would give folk like me with "weekend-busy" adjoining gardens the chance to count on a weekday but would also still allow those folk at work Monday to Friday to participate by doing their count over the weekend. Squirrel
Hello.
I certainly think it would be a great idea to have The Big Garden Birdwatch, spread over the course of a week. This would probably lead to an increase in participation due to the fact that many people who work weekends and don't get an oppoutunity to join in the count, would be able to participate.
Paul.
Warning! This post contains atrocious spelling, and terrible grammar. Approach with extreme edginess.
Hi,
I'd like to add my complete agreement with everything that has been said so far; my garden birdwatch figures bore little resemblance to the journal I was keeping during weekdays. Presumably, if the results of the similar count we did in the spring/ summer are significant enough, next year's BGBW will be extended.
Fingers crossed anyway
I even love magpies
Think it would be a good idea, but after 30 years of the same format I wonder if it would have much impact on the whole exercise.
I agree with you all - I see loads of birds every other day when looking out over my garden but they all disappear on Birdwatch day! Perhaps someone from the RSPB could tell us why it is necessary to do the count on a given day rather than any day over a given week? I understand that it's important to compare like-for-like but does the day really make so much difference statistically?
Make the boy interested in natural history if you can; it is better than games [Robert Falcon Scott]
Many thanks for the Big Garden Birdwatch chat - great to see constructive discussion on our biggest event! The survey is far more successful than we could have hoped with over half a million people watching their gardens this January. This was a massive jump in participation from the previous year, and we're not getting feedback to suggest people can't take part.
But I think the main question from people here is "Would changing the time period mean more accurate results?" The easy answer is no. And that is thanks to the vast numbers of people watching. This ensures we get an accurate measure of garden birds across the UK. The science works even if you feel the results from your particular garden aren't representative. The key here is consistency - the same survey method across the years. We compare the results from each year to build up trends. This is the same for more complex studies like the BTO's Breeding Bird Survey. The large numbers of surveys means that if we combine all the data, we cover a fantastic range of species. You may not see your coal tit in your hour, but many coal tits will be seen overall, and we'll compare this with the coal tit count from previous years to calculate what is happening to them - hopefully good news!
Another factor contributing to fewer birds would be the hour time limit. You'd be very lucky to see all your garden visitors in that hour but this ensures we get enough people taking part covering the whole UK. While a two or three hour survey might be more representative of your garden far fewer people would take part and our coverage would be patchy - the overall results would be near identical however. I realise it is disappointing not to see all you expect to see in the hour but the Birdwatch should be viewed as a massive jigsaw (with 500,000 pieces!) and your garden is one bit. Every garden count is important (without them there would be no Birdwatch!) but we never look at individual garden counts as they are only a snapshot. They need to be combined with thousands of others and we do this by reporting back at no smaller than county level (several thousand gardens). Scientifically it works and of course, Big Garden Birdwatch also encourages many people to enjoy the wildlife on their doorstep.
Whether more birds are seen on weekdays compared with the weekend is an interesting point but, whilst it might be the case in some gardens, others see no difference, so it is not something which would change the overall results. If for whatever reason there was a significant difference, if we started to include a full week, we would not be able to compare those results with the previous 31 years.
Sorry for the long answer but I hope this addresses your points. It is one of the commonest questions we get but as long as you all find an hour, all will be fine. And as a final point, we need the majority of people to count on the Saturday or Sunday - but if you really can't make your count then, we're happy for a few people to do their Birdwatch on the Friday or the Monday around the Birdwatch weekend. We want everyone to be able to join in - the more the merrier!
Hi Sarah
Many thanks for that detailed and informative response. I may well take up the option to "extend" the weekend for my hour-long count as, particularly in my situation, so doing really would give a more representative figure of my "regulars".
Yes, thanks for that - an interesting and informative answer.