Greater London residents have been revealing the secrets of their gardens for the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch.

“We monitor wildlife in public spaces but it’s almost impossible to record what’s in private gardens,” says RSPB spokesperson Tim Webb.

“This year’s data has been better than ever as more people took part, increasing the sample base compared with 2014. They’ve revealed the top three most common birds in the capital’s gardens are woodpigeons, house sparrows and starlings.”

Of the top three birds recorded in London gardens, two are on the red list of Birds of Conservation Concern, highlighting just how valuable our gardens can be. House sparrows and starlings are categorized as being of the ‘highest conservation priority’ as their national populations have nose-dived over recent years.

Understanding which birds use our gardens and being able to compare species and numbers with results from previous years reinforces how important these private spaces are. Together they add up to an area far greater than that designated as nature reserves.

This year’s London results show a rise in ring necked parakeets. “We believe they’ve discovered there’s plenty of food in gardens, and they’ve become frequent visitors. That means they’re more visible than previous years, but they are also spreading”, added Tim.

Conservationists have been analysing records for all UK species and found an alarming 60% decline across the board.

“To know that we’re losing almost two-thirds of all UK wildlife is alarming enough. What worries me more is that all the effort and investment we’ve been making hasn’t prevented that overall loss,” says Tim. “We appear to be having some impact in restoring house sparrows and starlings, but the long-term trend shows birds and wildlife aren’t coping well with urban life. This is why the annual Big Garden Birdwatch is so important. It shows a continuing downward slope for most of our birds. That doesn’t mean we should give up hope. Luckily we have plenty of advice for Londoners to help ease nature’s housing crisis.”

Free advice on giving nature a home can be found at rspb.org.uk/homes.