The National Garden Bird Count is organized by the Bird Protection Society, which states that many bird species in the Netherlands are not doing well.
That is why the annual count is being held today, tomorrow and Sunday. Participating is easy and can be done from home: according to bird expert Marc Plomp, you only need half an hour, a pen and paper.
“You record the maximum number of each species that you observe,” says Plomp, who has a Bird Information Center on the island of Texel, on NH Radio. You can ultimately calculate the numbers on de website of the Bird Protection Society.
Bird knowledge
But, Plomp continues, just noting a sparrow doesn’t count. “That’s only half right. You have to indicate which sparrow it is.” So how should you do it? The bird expert explains: “The house sparrow is often seen in gardens, but the tree sparrow and the hedge sparrow are also found. The house sparrow can be recognized by its gray cap, but the tree sparrow has a chocolate brown cap with a white ring on its cheek. That is why the bird is called that.”
Plomp says that the tree sparrow is currently having a hard time in North Holland. “You no longer encounter this bird in many gardens, so I am curious where it is still seen.”
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