FAMILIES descended on a popular country park to take part in a huge wildlife survey.

RSPB staff at its base in Wat Tyler Country Park, Pitsea, showed nature lovers how to spot a huge variety of birds which could be living in their gardens.

Visitors of all ages joined experts for a tour of the park, where they recorded the wildlife they spotted.

The event was part of the Big Garden Birdwatch, a national initiative by the RSPB designed to encourage people throughout the country to spend just one hour counting the birds in their gardens.

The data recorded over the weekend, which is still being counted, will then be used to establish which species could be under threat, and where.

Volunteers at the Wat Tyler site were also on hand to give visitors advice on how to feed the wildlife around them.

Daniel Hayhow, a conservation scientist for the RSPB, said: “This massive survey shows how important our gardens are for the amazing variety of wildlife living there.

“Hopefully, the fact that more people are helping to give nature a home in their gardens and outside spaces will mean we’ll begin to see improvements rather than declines.”

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