Count the Wildlife that's Counting on you

It's time to start preparing your gardens for the 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch. The RSPB initiative is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey and will celebrate its 37^th year on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January. The Big Garden Birdwatch is a chance for everyone to actively help nature and Mid and East Antrim is actively backing the campaign and giving the public the chance to learn important bird conservation skills at our two events:

Saturday 30th January, 2pm – 4pm

Dixon Park, Larne

Take part in the world’s biggest wildlife survey, The Big Garden Birdwatch, and make your very own bird box to take home.

Sunday 31st January, 10am - 1pm 

Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen, Carrickfergus (Meeting at Oakfield Community Centre)

Get close to our feathered friends during a hands-on bird ringing demonstration and take part in The Big Garden Birdwatch. Bird ringing is the attachment of a small numbered tag to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification and is vital for bird conservation.  

You can also complete the Big Garden Bird Survey at home. Visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch for more information and simply spend one hour during the Birdwatch weekend counting the visitors to your garden. The data gathered from this survey provides a vital health-check of the wildlife that we share our homes with. Last year almost half a million people across the UK, including more than 12,000 in Northern Ireland, took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch. Of the 127,700 birds counted in NI, house sparrows were the most commonly seen. Participants can also  record other garden wildlife, including hedgehogs and squirrels. 

For more information about Big Garden Birdwatch 2016 visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Mayor of Mid & East Antrim, Cllr Billy Ashe, with Alison Diver, Growing Communities Officer