Redcroft’s Big Garden Birdwatch 2020

“At Redcroft we all decided we would take part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch weekend, printing out pictures to identify the birds – residents and our team between them watched out for birds for an hour to help the RSPB with their national bird watching event. It brought some competition and laughter about who had spotted which birds and how many they had seen! It was a lovely experience with a feeling of community and we will definitely be up for it again next year.” — Sharron Eyears, Registered Manager, Redcroft care home, Bournemouth.

What is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch event?

‘Did you know that the Big Garden Birdwatch started out as an event for children? Back in 1979, the RSPB joined forces with BBC’s Blue Peter and called on children to let us know what birds they saw in their garden. Hundreds took up the call, and in those pre-digital days, dutifully posted in their findings. The early signs of success were there, with the RSPB team faced with an impressive 34 mail bags full of post to sort.’ — RSPB website.

This is the world’s largest wildlife survey!

The popularity of the Birdwatch has grown year-on-year and now over 40 years later it is the world’s largest wildlife survey, with around half a million people regularly taking part. It is one of the biggest citizen science events around, as borne out by the stats.

• Nearly 9 million hours have been spent watching garden birds since the Big Garden Birdwatch began in 1979
• The total number of birds counted as part of the Big Garden Birdwatch since 1979, is around 137 million

We are proud to be a tiny part of this!