Bird and wildlife lovers will get ready for the UK’s biggest birding event.

Last year, over a million people across the UK took part in the event. Here is the date for birding this year.

What is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?

The Big Garden Birdwatch is an annual census of birds across the UK. And it only takes an hour to help.

Native bird numbers have plummeted with 19 million fewer breeding pairs of birds in the UK compared to the late 1960s, warns the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

The wildlife charity is holding the count to assess the current bird population.

The results will show whether the species is struggling or hopefully recovering.

Conservation efforts, for example, have led to an increase in populations of mountain sparrows, curlews, and corncrakes.

But if the numbers of some birds are declining, steps can be taken to help them survive.

When is the Big Garden Birdwatch?

The Big Garden Birdwatch began on Friday, January 28, and will continue through Sunday, January 30, 2022.

How can I participate?

It is very simple to participate in the national bird count:

• You must first register to participate at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or by texting 70030
• Then you can choose any time between January 28 and January 30.
• Count the birds you see in your garden or from your balcony
• Ignore birds still in flight
• Submit results online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

How to watch the Big Garden Birdwatch live?

The charity says experts from across the UK will bring in photos, images and facts about the birds they see.

They’ll also answer any questions, plus there will be live contests and “familiar faces all weekend.”

• The RSPB will broadcast the Big Garden Birdwatch live on its YouTube channel

• Hear live commentary from their nature reserves across the UK, plus interviews and chat with special guests and wildlife experts.

Hear the songs of British birds that “may soon be lost forever” as the RSPB warns that 40 million birds have disappeared from UK skies.