Hundreds of people across East Devon are set to celebrate their love of nature and unite to count the nation’s garden birds during the coming weekend (January 29 to 31), for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.
During this year’s event, East Devon residents are asked to spend one hour watching and recording the birds in their garden, balcony, or local park, then send their results to the RSPB. In 2020, more than 14,500 of Devon’s residents and nearly half a million people across the UK took part in the survey.

Sidmouth Herald: All set for the Big Garden Birdwatch eventAll set for the Big Garden Birdwatch event (Image: RSPB)
For the last four decades, the yearly one hour survey has made the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch the largest garden wildlife citizen science project. Now in its 42nd year, 144 million birds have been counted giving the charity an astonishing amount of insight into how the country’s wildlife is faring.
The results from the Big Garden Birdwatch have highlighted the winners and losers in the garden bird world. The house sparrow remained at the top of the rankings as the most commonly seen garden bird with nearly 1.3 million sighted in 2020. Starling held down the second spot once more, with the blue tit completing the top three. Other birds featuring in the Devon “top ten” were goldfinches, great tits, and long-tailed tits.

Sidmouth Herald: Birds on a garden feederBirds on a garden feeder (Image: © RSPB-IMAGES AND ITS IMAGE CONTRIBUTORS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This image is protected by international copyright laws and dist)
To take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch 2021, watch the birds in your garden or local park for one hour at some point over the three days. Only count the birds that land, not those that fly over.
For a free Big Garden Birdwatch guide, which includes a bird identification chart, top tips, an RSPB shop voucher, plus advice on how to attract wildlife to your garden, text BIRD to 70030 or visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch