Which feathered friends will you spot?

The annual event helps the charity build a snapshot of garden wildlife across the UK and this year, for the first time, the event has been extended for a further day into Monday, January 30.

A spokesman for the RSPB said: “It’s great fun to do, but the Birdwatch has a serious scientific purpose too.

“Since it began 37 years ago the Big Garden Birdwatch has provided a snapshot of how the birds and other wildlife using our gardens are doing.

“Numbers of familiar birds like starlings and song thrushes fell again in the Big Garden Birdwatch last year.

“Despite being ranked number two in the Big Garden Birdwatch table, the number of starlings visiting people’s gardens has fallen by 70 per cent since the first Birdwatch in 1979, and less than half of us saw them in our gardens during the 2016 Birdwatch.”

The top three visitors in the 2016 survey were sparrows, starlings and blue tits.

It is very easy to take part in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch and warm-up events have already taken place at Stanwick Lakes, near Wellingborough.

All the details are available online at www.rspb.org.uk, where you can register for a free information pack.