Watch the birdie (From Witney Gazette)

Watch the birdie

6:03am Saturday 26th January 2008 in Headlines

THOUSANDS of people across Oxfordshire will be watching birds this weekend as part of the RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.

It aims to find out which birds are the most common visitors to gardens in winter and keeps an eye on how others are faring as well as giving a snapshot of winter bird populations.

Last year, more than 400,000 people spotted six million birds across 236,000 gardens.

Sarah Kelly, Big Garden Birdwatch co-ordinator, said: "The survey is fun, easy and only takes an hour to complete. It's a great way for people to contribute to a significant piece of wildlife research without even having to leave the comfort of their homes. You do not need to be an expert to take part."

Simply spend one hour over the weekend of counting the birds in your garden or local park, and record the highest number of each bird species seen at any one time. The morning is the best time to look, when the birds are out and about feeding after a cold winter night.

Log on to the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch website to record your results.