how to participate in the big annual bird counting operation

This operation initiated by the Bird Protection League and the Natural History Museum takes place Saturday and Sunday. It aims to take stock of the presence of birds in gardens during winter. The observation made from observations over the last few years is worrying.

The garden bird count takes place during the weekend of January 27 and 28. This participatory science operation, organized by the Bird Protection League and the Natural History Museum, allows the monitoring of the most common bird species. To participate, you only need one hour, during which you must observe from your garden or balcony, all the birds that land on the ground, and count the species seen. No need to be an expert, there are guides and factsheets on the websiteoiseaudesjardins.fr.

In 2023, the most frequently seen birds were robins, sparrows and blue and great tits. These birds are spotted in more than two thirds of French gardens. The latest editions have shown that there are overall more birds in gardens in winter than there were 10 years ago and that there are also more than in spring. This is explained both by the arrival of migratory birds, such as finches, robins, or tits, which come from Northern Europe to spend the winter with us, but also by the arrival of birds countryside, which in cold periods no longer finds as much food in rural areas as before. They therefore take refuge in the city because they are hungry.

Workforce generally in decline

This presence of birds in the gardens in winter is a trompe l’oeil, because in spring, migrants and rural birds leave. The findings are unfortunately quite gloomy. For 41% of common species in our gardens, spring numbers have been in decline for 10 years. This report is consistent with other observations showing a 30% drop in bird populations in the countryside over the past 15 years. This is explained in particular by urbanization, the disappearance of natural shelters, and the reduction in food resources for birds, particularly with the decline in insect populations.

Individuals can nevertheless act. Even if this loss of biodiversity goes well beyond the scale of gardens, it is always useful to install feeders with sunflower seeds, or pieces of apple, underlines Marjorie Poitevin, facilitator of the Garden Bird Observatory. It is also possible, she says, to start installing shelters. In winter, the birds do not nest right away, but they are already prospecting for spring.