A SNAPSHOT of feathered visitors to Dorset gardens has provided experts with a valuable insight into bird populations.

House sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds were the most popular visitors, according to results from the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch which were released today.

More than 7,000 people from Dorset took part in this year’s project, the largest survey of its kind in the world.

The survey is good news for the house sparrow, whose species appeared to be in decline.

It remains the most commonly seen bird in our gardens but it remains on the RSPB ‘red list’ as 62 per cent have been lost since 1979.

Further down the list there were a few changes, with woodpigeon dropping from number four to number five, and robin falling from number eight to number ten.