The good old house sparrow tops the list of garden birds seen in this year's RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in Devon.

They always prove popular, but the species has actually declined nationally by 17 per cent in the last five years alone, the RSPB said.

Hundreds of Teignbridge residents took part in the annual watch at the end of January, one of the biggest annual checks on the state of health of Britain's birdlife.

They spent an hour watching their gardens or in a park to tick off the number of species which visited, particularly interesting this year because of the extremely cold spell which affected feeding habits.

Gardens tended to see more countryside birds like redwings and fieldfares because the weather made it impossible for them to feed properly. Laden bird tables and feeders in domestic gardens proved a much-needed life-saver.

Second in popularity this year in the county was the blackbird, with the chaffinch third.

Fourth was the blue tit, fifth starling, sixth robin, seventh great tit, eighth wood pigeon, ninth goldfinch and tenth dunnock.

Nationally, more than 8,500,000 birds were counted by nearly 530,000 people.

In national order, the top ten birds were house sparrow, blackbird, starling, blue tit, chaffinch, wood pigeon, robin, great tit, collared dove and goldfinch.

l Meanwhile, more than 20 'novice' birdwatchers gathered at Stover Country park, Newton Abbot, on Sunday for a beginners' birdwatch walk organised by the Torbay and South Devon RSPB team.

Sand martins, chiff chaffs and swallows were seen, along with kingfishers and treecreepers.

The next walk will be at Venford Reservoir, near Holne, on Sunday, April 11, at 10am. Ring John Allan on 01626 821344 for details.