A HUGE survey of birds has revealed a large increase in the number of jays, and a glimmer of hope for the greenfinch.

This year almost 700,000 spotters across the UK - including 12,000 people in Dorset - collectively counted more than 11 million birds for the 43rd Big Garden Birdwatch, an initiative by the RSPB.

In Dorset, the house sparrow took the top spot for the most commonly seen bird, followed closely by starling and wood pigeon - but this year’s survey saw a big rise in the number of jays recorded, and even a slight increase in the number of greenfinches, which have been in decline.

In recent years the greenfinch has suffered a population crash, more than halving in number since 1993, caused by a severe outbreak of the disease trichomonosis.

This infection is spread through contaminated food and drinking water, or by birds feeding one another with regurgitated food during the breeding season.

As a consequence the species was added to the UK Red List last year.

This year's results however, found a small increase in greenfinch compared to 2021.

This gives scientists a glimmer of hope that this might be the first signs of a population recovery, but only time will tell.

Garden owners can help slow transmission rates by temporarily stopping the provision of food if ill birds are seen and making sure that garden bird feeders are cleaned regularly.

Meanwhile, jays moved up nine places to 23, an increase of 73% compared to last year.

Each autumn, jays, a colourful member of the crow family, can often be seen flying back and forth finding and hiding acorns to help see them through the winter.

The RSPB’s Chief Executive, Beccy Speight said: "We don’t know the reasons for the sudden increase in jay sightings this year.

"It may be down to food availability as we have reports that last year was poor for acorns, but whatever the reason a sighting of this stunning bird is enough to raise one’s spirits any day of the year let alone on a gloomy January weekend.

"It’s been brilliant to see so many people taking part again this year, taking time out to watch and reconnect with birds and then generously submit their sightings to help RSPB scientists gain some insights into how our garden birds are faring.”

The Big Garden Birdwatch is a chance for people of all ages to count the number of birds that visit their garden, helping the RSPB get an idea of how they are doing.

You can find the full results list on the RSPB website: https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/.