Count the sparrows in your garden this weekend!
The Flemish Society for the Protection of Birds 'Vogelbescherming Vlaanderen' (FSPB) is organising a Garden Birdwatch Weekend. This one focuses on house sparrows and takes place every spring. Their number gives an indication of the state of our natural environment.
The FSPB is asking everyone to count house sparrows in the garden for 5 or 10 minutes. The best time to do this, is in the morning when the small birds are most active. Participants can next go to the new website mussenwerkgroep.be to file their results.
"We want to see where the house sparrow can be found in big numbers, in small numbers or not at all, and compare these results geographically. Then we can look for causes in places where this little creature is not doing well", explains Inge Buntinckx of Mussenwerkgroep.be.
The number of house sparrows living in a certain area is traditionally a good indication for the state of the local natural environment. The more birds that are being spotted, the better.