Sightings of a specific bird variety in West Sussex outdoor spaces have surged by over eight hundred percent.

Records of Redwings in West Sussex gardens have risen by 873.3 percent during the past year, according to figures from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds yearly count.

The notable rise emerged through the charity’s 2026 Big Garden Birdwatch, which found that the House Sparrow maintains its status as the county’s most commonly documented avian species.

The statistics showed the Blue Tit and Starling claiming second and third positions respectively.

Sharp increases were recorded across several other bird types, with Fieldfare detections climbing by 425.8 percent and Little Owl reports jumping by 349.1 percent.

Conversely, the tally of Jays and Bullfinches observed dropped by more than half compared to the prior twelve months.

Certain varieties including the Skylark and Black Redstart vanished entirely from county garden records, with no sightings documented.

The House Sparrow stayed the bird most frequently spotted.

The wildlife organisation has employed these results to reveal new cleanliness recommendations for garden feeding areas, following a steep long-term downturn in Greenfinch populations.

The Greenfinch slipped another place to 19th in West Sussex, mirroring a nationwide drop exceeding 65 percent across three decades triggered by trichomonosis, a disease spread at feeding spots.

RSPB chief executive Beccy Speight said that while feeding birds is something millions cherish, evidence indicates species such as Greenfinches have suffered from disease transmission at feeders. She explained the organisation is not requesting people abandon feeding entirely, merely to do so in a manner that safeguards birds’ future wellbeing. She noted that collective small adjustments can preserve garden feeding as beneficial for wildlife.

The group is now recommending households refrain from offering seeds and peanuts between May 1st and October 31st.

It has also urged the public to remove flat bird tables, where contaminated food can gather and pass on infection, and to clean feeding stations every seven days.

The Big Garden Birdwatch asks volunteers to dedicate one hour tallying birds in gardens or nearby green areas and has run for more than forty years.

Over 650,000 people across the United Kingdom took part in the most recent count, recording more than nine million birds.