RSPB Scotland 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch results

The overall news of the outcomes of RSPB Scotland’s 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch is that the milder winter has boosted sightings of smaller garden birds.

Across Scotland over 36,000 people joined in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey during the last weekend in January 2016. Participants counted 626,335 feathered visitors during what was the 37th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

A rise in sightings of smaller gardens birds such as coal tits and great tits may be due to the milder weather in the months leading up to the Birdwatch.

Keith Morton, Species Policy Officer at RSPB Scotland, says: ‘2016 was another great year for Big Garden Birdwatch in Scotland. We’d like to say huge thank you to everyone who spent an hour of their weekend in January taking part; the data collected by you helps us build a better picture of how our garden birds are faring year to year.

‘Different birds are affected in different ways by the weather and this winter has seen milder temperatures and some very wet periods in parts of Scotland, although several areas did have a lot of snow fall over Big Garden Birdwatch weekend. The increase in smaller garden birds recorded, such as long-tailed tits, suggests that the lack of sustained cold weather helps these species survive in far greater numbers over the winter months. The food these birds rely on, such as insects, would have been easier to find, helping to boost the numbers of them spotted in Big Garden Birdwatch hour.’

The 2016 Big Garden Birdwatch results were:

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