Joyce says 'Help our feathered friends as it freezes'

Joyce says “Help our feathered friends as it freezes” – Join the Big Garden Birdwatch at end of January
Joyce Watson AM is backing the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch.
The Mid and West Wales Assembly Member will take an hour to record how many birds are in her garden over the weekend of 30 – 31 January.
Mrs Watson, who sits on the National Assembly for Wales’ Environment Committee, said: “The annual Birdwatch is great family fun, but it also serves a useful purpose, to help the RSPB monitor how our bird life is coping.
The RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch is back on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 January 2016, giving people across the UK the chance to be part of the world’s biggest wildlife survey.
To take part, people are asked to spend just one hour at any time over Big Garden Birdwatch weekend noting the highest number of each bird species seen in their gardens or local park at any one time. They then have three weeks to submit their results to the RSPB, either online at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or in the post.
The Birdwatch has run for over 30 years, and over 28,000 people took part in Wales last year, allowing the RSPB to monitor trends and understand how birds are doing.
Garden birds, like farmland birds, are good indicators of the overall health of the natural environment. Starling number have fallen by 80% since the Birdwatch started in 1979, while song thrush sightings are at an all-time low, and they are on the RSPB’s red list of birds with the highest conservation concern.
Mrs Watson is a keen birdwatcher and recently had her wildlife photography chosen for an exhibition at the National Assembly for Wales.
She urged bird lovers who feed their garden visitors to top up their bird feeders as temperatures plummet to freezing.
“This sudden chill will be a shock to our birds after the mild weather we’ve had. Helping them with calorie rich foods like mixed seed, fatballs and peanuts, as well as mild grated cheese and porridge oats, could be the difference between life and death.
“Fresh clean water is also important for them, as natural sources freeze over. A light ball such as a ping-pong ball should keep your water ice free.
“Keep your garden visitors well fed and cared for ahead of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch, to encourage them into your garden just in time for you to take part in the world’s biggest wildlife survey.”
Ends
Editors’ Notes:
Attached photo of chaffinch by Joyce Watson AM
For more information about safe ways to feed birds and how to be part of the World’s biggest wildlife survey, visit www.rspb.org.uk
Schools are taking part in the RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch, with classes taking an hour to count birds together. This runs from now until 12 February.
Last year’s survey results
Carmarthenshire’s top ten bird sightings 2015:
1 House sparrow
2 Blue tit
3 Starling
4 Chaffinch
5 Blackbird
6 Great tit
7 Robin
8 Jackdaw
9 Magpie
10 Carrion crow
Ceredigion’s top ten bird sightings 2015:
1 House sparrow
2 Starling
3 Blue tit
4 Chaffinch
5 Blackbird
6 Great tit
7 Robin
8 Magpie
9 Goldfinch
10 Jackdaw
Gwynedd’s top ten bird sightings 2015:
1 House sparrow
2 Blue tit
3 Chaffinch
4 Starling
5 Blackbird
6 Great tit
7 Jackdaw
8 Robin
9 Collared dove
10 Magpie
Pembrokeshire’s top ten bird sightings 2015:
1 Starling
2 House sparrow
3 Blue tit
4 Chaffinch
5 Blackbird
6 Great tit
7 Robin
8 Jackdaw
9 Goldfinch
10 Magpie
Powys’s top ten bird sightings 2015:
1 Blue tit
2 House sparrow
3 Chaffinch
4 Starling
5 Blackbird
6 Great tit
7 Robin
8 Goldfinch
9 Long tailed tit
10 Carrion crow