Are you ready to count birds this weekend in the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch?

Nature lovers have many opportunities each year to help researchers discover which species are the winners and losers in response to changes in habitats and the climate; we simply have to count species seen from a prescribed list – whether plants, animals, birds or butterflies.

I’ve just heard there’s an annual Big Farmland Bird Count, when the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust encourages farmers and land managers to record bird species and numbers on their farms, from 6 to 22 February.

But the “big one” we can all take part in is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. This annual event gives the RSPB wildlife charity a valuable snapshot of how garden birds are doing in the UK.

You can help by signing up at www.rspb.org.uk, then counting the wild birds you see during one hour. It can be any time this weekend, Friday 23 to Sunday 25 January.

Don’t worry if you can’t tell a blackbird from a starling: when you sign up you can download a free identification chart.

You can count birds from your window at home. Perhaps you’ll don a coat and count the birds outdoors, whether in your garden or a local park. If you’re really keen, you can do more than one birdwatch over the weekend, but each must be from a different location, as the RSPB can only accept one birdwatch per person per location.

Only count birds that land, not those flying over. Record the highest number of each bird species you see at any one time, not the total you see in the hour. This ensures the friendly robin making many visits is counted as one bird, not several!

It’s important to send in your results even if you spot just one bird or none at all during the hour – that’s important information too.

You can get together with friends or family to count as a team, but only one of you should submit results for that count.

The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch is the largest continuous citizen science project in the UK, and the largest garden bird survey in the world.

Last year almost 600,000 people across the UK took part, counting over nine million birds. The top species recorded nationally was the house sparrow followed (in decreasing numbers counted) by blue tit, woodpigeon, starling and blackbird.

The RSPB says it conducts Big Garden Birdwatch in winter because that’s when garden birds need us most: if it’s cold, it’s more likely birds will come into our gardens looking for shelter and food, which makes it easier to count them.

The Birdwatch takes place at the same time every year, so RSPB analysts can look back to see what has changed.

Beccy Speight, RSPB chief executive, said: “Those who take part in the birdwatch play an important role in helping the RSPB understand how UK birds are doing. Whatever you see – one blackbird, 20 sparrows or no birds at all – it all counts. It helps us build a vital overall picture of how our garden birds are faring from one year to the next. Our garden birds are counting on you!”

To take part, sign up at www.rspb.org.uk. You can read tips for your birdwatch and download a bird identification chart as well as a voucher to spend at the RSPB online shop.