Big Garden Birdwatch

Feathered Friends Love Lawns!

This weekend garden-lovers can discover how important their lawn and its surroundings are to birds and other wildlife by joining in with the RSPB 2018 Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW).

Running from Saturday 27th to Monday 29th January, the BGBW is the world’s largest wildlife survey. It has been held for nearly 40 years and, with results from around 500,000 gardens, the RSPB can create a “snapshot” of bird numbers across the UK.

Around 500,000 people – which coincidentally is the number of customers of GreenThumb, the UK’s premier lawncare company – took part in the 2017 BGBW and counted millions of birds, and other wildlife too!

How To Take Part

All you must do to take part this Saturday, Sunday or Monday is:

• Choose a good place to watch from for an hour. Which window gives you the best view? Make sure it’s comfy and you have the essentials within easy reach – a nice, hot drink and your favourite biscuits – and somewhere to jot down what you see. On the RSPB BGBW website there’s a nifty counting tool to help you keep track.
• Count the maximum number of each species you see at any one time. For example, if you see a group of three House Sparrows together on the lawn and later another two, and after that another one in a bush, the number to submit is three. That way, it’s less likely you’ll double-count the same birds.
• Go back to the BGBW website and tell them what you’ve seen. Or use a paper form from there which is FREE to post back to the RSPB.
• For those without a garden, just pop to your local park or green space and join in there.

Here’s a helpful identification chart showing the 10 most common bird species counted in 2017. It features five – Woodpigeon; Blackbird; Starling; House Sparrow and Robin – which tend to sit, move around, or feed on the lawn.

It also features five – Great Tit, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Goldfinch, and Long Tailed Tit – which tend to sit, move around, or feed in shrubs and trees; but which use moss to build their nests.

Some Types Need A Bit Of Moss!

Come the Spring, they’ll gather lots of moss to create nests. But it’s much healthier for your lawn in the Summer, if a specialist company such as GreenThumb removes excessive moss now which can choke grass growth. You can easily put some moss aside in an old bird feeder or fine-mesh bag for them to gather.

If while doing the BGBW survey you notice your tired lawn needs refreshing, with a specialist to tackle the moss and weeds, then contact GreenThumb. Either measure the lawn area using our online tool at https://www.greenthumb.co.uk/measure and/or contact your local GreenThumb branch via https://www.greenthumb.co.uk/branch – both on this website.

For more details about Big Garden Birdwatch, visit here