The UK-wide results from this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch have revealed the Starling has dropped from third to fourth place as the lowest number ever was recorded.

In Devon, the Starling has dropped one place in the rankings from number four to number five in this year’s results. House Sparrow held onto the UK top spot once again and Blue Tit remains at number two, with Woodpigeon and Blackbird making up the other top five most recorded species in UK gardens.

Nationwide, almost 600,000 people took part in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey, counting more than nine million birds of over 80 species during this year’s Big Garden Birdwatch. The survey provides a valuable snapshot of how the UK's most common garden birds are faring and taking part is a way to help birds and nature.

In Devon, just over 16,600 residents took part in the big weekend and the top three birds recorded across the county were, House Sparrow, Blue Tit, and Blackbird.

Starlings are medium-sized birds with glossy plumage that has a purple and green sheen, often with white spots during winter.

They are also excellent mimics and can make a variety of tweets, cheeps and clicks.

They can be found across the UK, with their numbers swelling during winter when birds arrive from northern Europe, gathering together to perform spectacular murmurations.

Despite these displays sometimes reaching hundreds of thousands of individuals, Starlings are a red-listed species in the UK and are considered a high conservation concern due to their declining numbers. Although there is not enough evidence to confirm what is causing these decreases, the UK breeding population declined by 82 per cent between 1970 and 2022.

Before 2000, the Starling was regularly the most numerous species recorded in the Big Garden Birdwatch.

Thankfully, there are ways to support these colourful, charming birds in our gardens.

Avoiding the use of pesticides and keeping a natural lawn allows Starlings to forage for invertebrates, especially leatherjackets (cranefly larvae). They also need short grass to watch out for predators whilst feeding, so mowing the lawn now and again is beneficial.

Putting up nest boxes also provides Starlings with a readymade nesting site, and a box with a 45mm entrance hole is the ideal size for these birds.

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a large-scale citizen science survey that started in 1979, providing an annual snapshot of the status of garden birds in the UK.

Participants are asked to count the maximum number of each species recorded at their chosen location for one hour over the last weekend in January.

Teachers and pupils can also take part in Big Schools’ Birdwatch, which reached over 100,000 participants this year.

A spokesperson said: "Thanks to members and supporters, the RSPB can carry out vital conservation efforts to support nature throughout the year." To find out the full Big Garden Birdwatch results visit: https://www.rspb.org.uk/whats-happening/big-garden-birdwatch