Primary pupils from Starbank School have been getting closer to nature thanks to the UK’s biggest citizen wildlife study.
2023 marks the 44th RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, which sees keen birdwatchers across the UK spend one hour tracking the birds they see in their gardens over a three-day period.
One in four bird species is under serious threat, so a key objective of the study is to measure and track the plight of different species to identify those requiring additional protection.
Starbank’s Eco Councillors joined over 500,000 nature lovers across the country by grabbing their binoculars and clipboards, and logging the number and species of every bird that landed in an area of the school’s field.
Pupils had earlier used their creative skills to make birdfeeders from recycled plastic bottles. They filled them with bird feed and hung them on trees around school to attract more feathery visitors to their patch.
With the help of a handy visual guide to identify each type of bird, pupils recorded their findings on data sheets which were then collated by the Eco Council and submitted to the RSPB.
Many of the pupils enjoyed the experience so much that they persuaded their families to join them the following weekend to record more findings in their gardens and local parks.