World's biggest birdwatch returns to the Channel Islands
Video report by ITV Channel's Kate Prout
The world's largest garden wildlife survey returns to the Channel Islands this weekend (28-30 January).
The RSPB is asking islanders to spend an hour counting birds in their gardens to help track changes in species numbers across the UK.
More than a million people took part in 2021, including more than 1,000 people across the Channel Islands.
More than 17 million birds were counted across the weekend.
The RSPB is celebrating its 43rd year of the Big Garden Birdwatch, with more than 150 million birds counted to date.
As many islanders have been confined to their homes over the past two years because of the pandemic, the RSPB says it is important to protect local wildlife to help boost our own mental health.
"Over the past year, we’ve seen how important the natural world is to our mental health and wellbeing. There has been a surge in interest in the nature on our doorsteps and many people have come to rely on garden birds to bring joy and comfort in these unsettling times."
House sparrows are the Channel Island's most sighted birds but a closer look at data collected through the Big Garden Birdwatch has shown that numbers have dropped significantly since the Birdwatch began in 1979.
Rules for the Big Garden Birdwatch are simple for islanders to follow:
Take one hour to record the birds who visit your garden
Only count the birds that land, not those flying over
Record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time – not the total you see in the hour.
The RSPB's Chief Executive, Beccy Speight, has said she hopes the enthusiasm seen in last year's event continues this weekend.
She said: "We know that for many people, garden birds provide an important connection to the wider natural world and bring enormous joy.
"Over the last year, there has been a broad and much-needed realisation that nature is an important and necessary part of our lives especially for our mental health and wellbeing. But nature needs us too."
Beccy explained the data collected across the UK this weekend will go towards protecting local wildlife.
She added: “By taking part in the Birdwatch, you are helping to build an annual snapshot of how our birdlife is doing across the UK.
"It is only by understanding how our wildlife is faring that we can protect it. We know that nature is in crisis but together, we can take action to solve the problems facing nature.
“Whether you saw one blackbird, twenty starlings or no birds whatsoever, it is really valuable information as it helps us build a picture of how our garden birds are faring from one year to the next.”
Islanders can read the Big Garden Birdwatch guide here.