The Big Schools’ Birdwatch 2024

Schools across the UK are currently preparing to take part in the Big School’s Birdwatch 2024. Run by the RSPB, the Big Schools’ Birdwatch is an annual survey, where pupils go out into the playground and take a record of all of the birds that they see.

Why not get your class to take part? It fits well with many areas of the curriculum for all age groups and your pupils will love becoming ‘citizen scientists’.

How does it work?

Get your pupils to wrap up warm and then go out into the playground, or onto the school field, if your school has one. They should try to be as quiet as possible to encourage the birds to appear. Armed with a clipboard and worksheet (download available on the RSPB website here), they should record how many of each species of bird they can see at any one time. This should prevent birds being counted twice.

There are 20 types of birds to watch out for, as well as space to add any others that aren’t on the list. The survey should take approximately one hour. Once you have recorded your results, you can submit them to the RSPB on the website here. The information is vital for the RSPB. It allows them to track changes in bird population and try to support bird species which are in decline. You can see the results of previous Big Garden Birdwatches here.