Count the wildlife that’s counting on you because it’s time to fill up your feeders and get ready for the RSPB’s 39th Big Garden Birdwatch.

Last year, nearly 16,000 people in Essex (and almost 500,000 people nationally) took part in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey and this January the organisation is calling on your help again.

All you need to do is sit down for an hour with a cup of tea and a slice of cake, and watch and record the birds that visit your garden or local green space over the weekend of January 27 to 29.

Emily Kench, spokesperson for the RSPB in the East of England, says: “By collecting this data year-on-year, we can monitor the long-term trends of different species. Both the highs and the lows, and from this, we can work out what we need to do to help.

“As well as counting birds, we want to know about some of the other wildlife you’ve seen throughout the year, so look out for badgers, foxes, grey squirrels, red squirrels, muntjacs deer, roe deer, frogs and toads.”

Of course the best way to count birds in your garden is by sticking out something for them to attract them there in the first place and the RSPB have plenty of advice on what, and what not, to feed birds.

Emily adds: “Mealworms, dried or alive, are are enjoyed by insect-eaters like robins, starlings and others, while sunflower seeds are full of beneficial oil and protein. Sunflower hearts, which are seeds with the husks removed, are less messy and give quick access to the food for birds adapted to seed-eating like Blue Tits, Siskins and House Sparrows.”

Leftovers are also a good bird feeder such as chopped pears and apples, which will feed Blackbirds, Song Thrushes, and maybe even Redwings and Fieldfares, and try cooked potatoes, chopped (unsalted) bacon and cheese but be wary using dried fruits like raisins, bif you have cats and dogs who can fall ill if they eat them.

Items to avoid include cooking fat from Sunday roasts which when they merge with the meat juices during cooking can stick to bird’s feathers and stop them being waterproof.

“Dessicated coconut swells up inside birds and makes them very unwell,” Emily says, “and bird’s guts aren’t designed to digest milk while dry biscuits may lead to birds choking on the hard lumps.”

Salt is also bad because garden birds are practically unable to metabolise salt and it is toxic to them in high quantities and avoid bread because, although it won’t do them any harm, it acts as an empty filler for birds and doesn’t provide much in the way of nutrition.

As well as sitting in your own garden there are plenty of events taking place throughout the county.

At Flatford, the Wildlife Garden Big Garden Birdwatch takes place over the same weekend, January 27 to 28, from 10.30am to 3.30pm when there will be telescopes and binoculars available for bird watchers and plenty of family activities including a chance to make bird feeders.

At Watt Tyler Park in Pitsea, there’s a prepare your garden for the Big Garden Birdwatch event this weekend running tomorrow and Sunday from 10am to 4pm where people can make their own bird feeder for just £1.

Visitors can also learn about the different things they can feed garden birds as well as picking up some tips on how to ID their garden visitors before the weekend itself when the country park will be hosting their very own birdwatch, again from 10am to 4pm.

For your free Big Garden Birdwatch pack, which includes a bird identification chart, plus RSPB shop voucher and advice to help you attract wildlife to your garden, text BIRD to 70030 or visit www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch

Last year’s top 5

(1) House Sparrow.

This noisy and gregarious bird, gifted at exploiting our rubbish and wastefulness, held on to the number one spot in 2017 as a non-mover, despite a 71 per cent population decline nationally between 1977 and 2008.

(2) Starling

Another non-mover, despite a 79 per cent population decline since 1979. At a distance starlings look black, but up close they are glossy with a sheen of purples and greens.

(3) Blackbird

They knocked the blue tit out of the top three in 2017, being seen in 94 per cent of gardens in the county. Males live up to their name, but, confusingly, females are brown.

(4) Woodpigeon

A large, grey, common pigeon with a white neck and wing patches. Its cooing call and clattering wings are familiar sounds.

(5) Blue Tit

These small bodied birds are down two places after suffering from prolonged wet weather during the 2016 breeding season, leading to fewer young surviving, and resulting in fewer being seen in gardens. They attractive and recognisable garden visitors: a colourful mix of blue, yellow, white and green.