Big Garden Birdwatch

Big Garden Birdwatch - Charlies Holmes makes a bird feeder

The RSPB and Nature Ed held a Big Birdwatch event on Saturday (25 January) and Sunday (26 January) as a way of encouraging people to spot wildlife in their gardens and surrounding areas.

The event, held at Hollingworth Lake Visitor Centre, provided information regarding how to spot the wildlife and gave children the chance to take part in craft activities.

The Big Garden Birdwatch event is held every year by the RSPB and is described as the “worlds largest wildlife survey”.

Mags Martinez from the RSPB said: "We had 600,000 people take part in this weekend last year and we want to try and get more people involved this year."

Once results are collected, the RSPB produce up-to-date data about what wildlife is currently around the UK.

"It's not just all about birds, we do a lot of things with hedgehogs because they are on their way to being extinct. With the results we can produce a top 10 list of what people are seeing,” said Mags.

Activities for children included making bird feeders. Jude Murray from Nature Ed said: "It is a good way to get children interested in the nature aspect of what is going on."

The event attracted interest from families and children at the visitors’ centre. Mags said: "It is a good family event that everyone can get involved with. You can spot the wildlife comfortably from inside your home."

Jude added: "It is a good time of year to do this type of event."