The Big Garden Birdwatch Results 2022

Big Garden bird watch results 2022. The Big Garden Birdwatch helps monitor how garden birds are coping. The event requires people to set aside just an hour of their time to count the birds they see in their garden or local green space.

And the Big Garden Birdwatch results for 2022 are in!

Big Garden Birdwatch

In 1979, the first ever Big Garden Birdwatch took place. Now we have over 40 years of data to help us understand patterns.

This year, 697,735 people counted over 11 million birds. 11,556,046 birds to be exact. That’s a lot.

Big garden birdwatch results 2022

Here’s the run-down on the top 10 garden birds in the UK. And if you’re familiar with the Big Garden Birdwatch, you won’t be surprised at the number one result.

Top Place

For the past 18 years, House Sparrows have been the top of the list. And it’s no different this year.

For the 19^th year, House Sparrows have been spotted the most in your gardens – 1,778,764 times. Even though they’re spotted the most, there’s far fewer Sparrows than they’re used to be. Since 1979, this result has dropped by more than 50%.

Places 2-4

There were 1,178,156 Blue Tits seen in UK gardens this year, putting it in second place. The Blue Tit has retained its second place position for 2022.

Starlings, another bird that has remained in its position, was sighted 1,162,553 times.

Ever so common Woodpigeons have moved up one position for this year’s results. 1,041,709 Woodpigeons were seen.

Places 5-7

They’ve slipped one spot in comparison to last year but Blackbirds are still ever so popular. 958,917 birds were counted from the results of the data.

The famous ‘Christmas’ bird Robins have been sighted 622,493 times. These beloved birds are remaining in the sixth position spot from last year in this year's garden birdwatch. What sweet birds they are.

Lovely-coloured Goldfinches fly into seventh place with over 591 thousand sightings.

Places 8-9

And switching places with the Goldfinch this year is the Great Tit. This bird was seen over 587 thousand times this year and we can’t help but wonder where they went. Perhaps they had a better food source this year than our gardens.

This shiny-object-attracted bird is in 9^th place, with 527,125 sightings. Magpies are yet another bird not only staying in the top 10 but staying in the same position as last year.

10^th Place

402,236 Finally, in 10^th place, we have cute little hoppers, Chaffinches. Chaffinches have actually climbed into the top 10 this year from their previous eleventh place position.

Though they’ve risen into top 10, sightings are actually down almost 70% in comparison to 1979. And similar in trend, Great Tits have moved down a spot where their sightings have actually down the opposite.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a great way to assess bird trends over the years. Not just RSPB but other wildlife organisations, too, have data that shows how the UK’s bird populations are changing. In fact, more species (15% of 8,431 assessed) are now at risk of extinction.

Take the number one on this list. House Sparrows may have the most sightings but they are actually on the UK’s Red List for birds. Declination in the population has led to this.

Further Action

Bird diets are changing now the further into Spring we get. Are you making the necessary alterations to bird food in your garden to support the change?

You can check out some Spring-Time bird food options here.