THE people of Devon are being asked to join in the world's largest wildlife survey, RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch.

A record-breaking 551,881 participants helped celebrate the Big Garden Birdwatch 30th birthday in 2009, spotting more than 8.5 million birds across almost 280,000 gardens.

In Devon, more than 13,000 people took part in the Big Garden Birdwatch last year, the highest ever recorded. 

House sparrows came in as the most common Devon bird, with an average of 3.79 per garden. Blackbird came in second place, with an average of 2.87 per garden and chaffinch was third with just over three per garden.

Now in its 31st year, the Big Garden Birdwatch is set to get even bigger and with the recent cold weather forcing more birds into people's gardens, there could be some surprising results.

The RSPB's Tony Whitehead said: 'Big Garden Birdwatch is a fun activity for all the family in the winter months. It's so easy to join in and you'll be amazed at how much wildlife you see in your garden at this time of year.

'With the recent prolonged cold spell we're expecting to see much more activity and a wider range of birds this year. When it's this cold, birds struggle to keep warm. Every day, birds need to find and eat food equivalent to 40% of their own body weight to survive so putting out supplies is a lifeline.'

Originally an activity for children, Big Garden Birdwatch is now equally popular with adults and makes a great family activity. You can make a day of it by creating bird feeders made from recycled household goods or bird cakes for the birds in your garden.

Tony added: 'By spending just one hour spotting which birds are coming to your garden you can really add to our knowledge. From the results we can see the ones that are doing well and those that may need our help.'

Past Big Garden Birdwatch findings have enabled the RSPB to undertake studies to identify the cause of certain species decline as well as steps we can take to help them recover.

To do your bit for garden birds, simply spend one hour over the weekend 30/31 January 30/31 2010 counting the birds in your garden or local park and record the highest number of every bird species seen at any one time.

For further information and online resources, visit the RSPB website, http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch">www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch An online results form will be available from Saturday January 30 until February 19. Alternatively call 0300 456 8330 to request a Big Garden Birdwatch form to be sent to you (calls charged at standard rate). The hotline number will be in operation until 29 January.