This will be the 30th anniversary of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch and it has set itself the target of breaking the record of the number of people involved to mark the anniversary. It’s asking for help from Argyll to do this – for one hour of your choice next weekend on24th and 25th January.

You simply spend that hour watching, identifying and counting the wildlife in your own garden or a nearby park or woodland anywhere in Argyll and the islands.

Big Garden Birdwatch has grown into the biggest garden wildlife watching event in the world, helping to provide vital information about how some of our best loved species are faring.

Last year, 1,103 people in Argyll and Bute took part in the survey, and found that the chaffinch was the most common garden bird, just above the house sparrow and the blue tit. Chaffinches were spotted in 93.3% of gardens with an average of 10.64 birds per garden.

Jenny Tweedie, RSPB Scotland Media and Communication Officer, says: ‘The Big Garden Birdwatch has grown massively since 1979 when we first organised it. People that haven’t taken part before will find it a really enjoyable way to bring the whole family together for just an hour, to learn more about the wealth of wildlife that we’re lucky to have.

‘The record number of people to have taken part in Scotland is just under 30,000, out of a UK total of almost 400,000, so this year we really want to break through that 30,000 barrier for the 30th anniversary.

‘It’s really easy to get a form for results, as well as a guide to recognising the most common birds, either at our birdwatch website or by phoning us on 0300 456 8330. And the sheer number of results that we get helps us to understand how some of our common birds like the robin, blackbird and chaffinch are faring’.