This Monday, 30 November 2015, sees the start of Birdwatch Ireland’s most popular survey: the annual winter Garden Bird Survey.

Every year Ireland’s largest conservation NGO asks households across the country to record the birds visiting their gardens between the start of December and the end of February.

How the Garden Bird Survey works

Between December and February each year, we ask members of the public to keep note of the highest number of each bird species visiting their garden every week.  We also ask for information on the size of the garden being surveyed, the kinds of food, if any, being offered to the birds, and so on.  Taking part is fun, easy and an ideal way to get to know your garden birds better; it also makes an ideal school project

Birdwatch Ireland

The Garden Bird Survey is a great way to to get a better understanding of the birds visiting your garden. Taking part also means you’re making a real contribution to bird conservation in Ireland.

We’ll be keeping track of the birds visiting the feeders here at IWHQ, and hope you choose to do the same wherever you live in the country. The more people participate, and the more data gathered, the more valuable the results will be.

For help on garden bird ID you can take a look at the Top 20 Garden Birds in Ireland on the Birdwatch Ireland website. Then jot down your weekly tally on the downloadable Garden Bird Survey form, or use a spreadsheet (like we do) to keep your records. You than have the option of submitting your results online, or sending them in by post, whatever works best for you.

For full details and to take part check out the Garden Bird Survey page on the Birdwatch Ireland website, and for an overview of the results from last year’s survey check out this PDF.