RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch

Get ready for Big Garden Birdwatch 2026

Big Garden Birdwatch 2026 is coming on 23-25 January!

Sit back, relax and watch your garden birds for an hour. Whether you’re a newcomer or a regular – welcome! It all counts, and we’d love to know your sightings. You may even get some surprises.

Save the date: 23-25 January 2026

Come back in mid-December and register to take part in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. In 2025, over 590,000 people took part – and you could be with them.

Once you register, we’ll keep you updated with top tips on how to get ready for your best Birdwatch ever.

On the day of the Big Garden Birdwatch itself, taking part couldn’t be simpler! You just spend an hour watching the birds in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park, and tell us what you’ve seen. If you see very few birds or none at all, that’s also really useful information for us, so please let us know.

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How do I take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch?

It’s easy – you simply watch the birds in your garden or local park for one hour, and record what you see.

1. Count the birds you see in your garden, from your balcony or in your local park for one hour over the Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. It doesn’t matter what time of day you do your Birdwatch, but you’ll see more birds if you do it first thing in the morning.

2. Only include birds that land, not those flying over. Count the highest number of each species you see at any one time. For example, if you saw four Starlings together, then two Starlings later, your final count will be four (not six).

3. Go online and tell us what you’ve seen! Even if you didn’t see anything at all in your hour, please let us know. It’s all really useful information.

Why is it important?

Big Garden Birdwatch provides a vital snapshot of how the UK’s garden birds are faring, taken over one weekend. This gives a good general impression of the birds that are doing well, and the ones that are struggling. As the first Birdwatch took place more than 40 years ago, we now have a wealth of data to look back on.

Shockingly, we’ve lost 38 million birds from the UK’s skies in the last 50 years, so it’s crucial we do all we can to look after our bird life. Big Garden Birdwatch helps to monitor how garden birds are faring.

Also, people taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch for the first time often find it sparks a passion for nature. And then we hope they’ll start giving nature a helping hand through feeding their garden birds, putting up nest boxes and gardening in a wildlife-friendly way – actions that can make all the difference to nature.

Click here for more information.

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Bird watching resources in the Muddy Faces shop

Bird Observation Set - classroom size

Flora & Fauna Observation Set - Class Sized

British Bird Set

Field Guide - Park & Garden Birds

Field Guide - British Birds Tracks & Signs

Children's Binoculars