Birdwatching is great at any time of the year but I particularly enjoy taking part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. It’s fun for kids and adults alike, free and a great opportunity to take an hour out, relax and engage with nature (and each other).
What you spot, record and report enables the RSPB to analyse trends and help effectively protect the UK’s birdlife. Sadly, the UK has lost 38 million birds from its skies in the last 60 years; the RSPB is doing everything it can to reverse this and you can help…
How do you take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?
Firstly, sign up (it takes about a minute) and access all the resources you need including your free Big Garden Birdwatch guide.
Then just choose one hour between Friday, 23rd January and Sunday, 25th January to spot birds. If you don’t have a garden don’t worry, you can choose an area in your local park, green space or even street.
Three simple steps
1. Watch for birds in your chosen spot for one hour
2. Tally how many of each species of bird lands on your patch. Just record the highest number of each species you see at any one time so you don’t risk counting the same bird twice.
3. Go online and tell the RSPB what you saw: rspb.org.uk
Big Schools’ Birdwatch 2026
Schools can also take part at any time between the 6th of January and the 13th February 2026. More details can be found at the Big Schools’ Birdwatch.
What we do to prepare for our birdwatch
We stock up on a variety of bird food, which includes fat balls, a seed mix with mealworms (particularly attractive for robins and blackbirds), wild seed mix and nuts, which are popular for great tits, blue tits, woodpeckers, jays etc. Birds are very appreciative of kitchen scraps. These are a very cost-effective way of attracting and feeding them.
We have a couple of hanging bird feeders and a bird table so it should be a good combination. If you haven’t already got any feeders/table already in situ, set up new items as far ahead of the Big Garden Birdwatch as possible as birds can be quite cautious/skeptical about change.
We’ve also got our trusty binoculars at the ready and the hot chocolate on standby.
Some useful resources
- RSPB First Book Of Birds – Anita Ganeri, David Chandler
- i-SPY Birds – Collins Michelin i-SPY Guides – we’re big fans of these pocket-sized boredom busters!
- Birds – Usborne Spotter’s Guides
- RSPB My First Book of Garden Birds – Mike Unwin, Sarah Whittley
