Bird lovers gear up for annual watch: 'You get a bit hooked'

Five-year old budding artist Freya Majury has fallen in love with the birds in her Ballygowan back garden.

Along with her mother Sarah and brother Rory, she will be taking part in the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Big Garden Birdwatch this weekend.

The UK's largest garden wildlife survey takes place from 24 to 25 January to give a snapshot of how garden birds are faring.

Freya's artist mother Sarah first took part five years ago, when her nature-loving mum Lyn became more housebound because of dementia.

"We'd been putting up bird feeders for her to look at the birds and keep her interested because she was very outdoorsy," Ms Majury said.

"That has fascinated her and it's got the kids into nature."

Since the survey began in 1979, people all over the UK have spent just over 12 million hours counting more than 195 million birds.

The charity provides a digital guide to help people identify what they're seeing.

The Majurys often use an old book belonging to Sarah's mother Lyn to find out more about the birds in their garden.

"Traditionally we go down to Mum's, she has lovely patio doors out to the garden and we'll all sit there and try and spot."

Each member of the family has their favourite bird.

For Sarah, it's the coal tit, while Freya loves blue tits.

And her seven-year old brother Rory has a special connection to his favourite bird.

"Rory's favourite is the robin," said Sarah.

"When he was in pre-school his little name badge was a robin and they all called him Rory Robin.

"So it kind of stuck with him about robins and he's obsessed with them."

All three birds featured in the Northern Ireland top 10 after the 2024 count.

House sparrows were the most spotted, with the blue tit in third place, the robin in eighth place and the tiny coal tit scraping in tenth.

Neil Warnock, conservation manager with RSPB NI, said the findings provided important insights.

"The Big Garden Birdwatch is not only a fantastic way to connect with nature, but it makes a real impact.

"By taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch, you're contributing to vital research that helps us monitor bird populations and identify trends."

What started out for Sarah as a way of encouraging her mother's interest in birds has widened into supporting all kinds of nature.

"Once you get that interest, when you care about nature, then that's when you care a bit more about protecting it and doing a bit more for nature, making your garden bee-friendly and bird-friendly and doing the little bit that you can do," she explained.

"You get a bit hooked."