RESIDENTS across Dorset are being asked to sign-up for the RSPB's 2017 Big Garden Birdwatch.

Organisers hope the event, which takes place from the end of January, should attract up to half a million people this year.

RSPB South West spokesman Morwenna Alldis said: "We're really excited that people can now register online to take part.

"We hope that people sign-up to count their feathered friends and the other garden wildlife, which they rely on to give a home.

"By registering now to take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch and submitting your results, you can make a real difference to the future of our UK wildlife - birds don’t exist in isolation, species numbers are a vital indicator of the health of the whole web of nature, so don’t delay and click ‘Request a Pack’ today."

After registering to take part online, participants will receive a free information pack.

The world's largest garden wildlife survey, which celebrates its 38th year in 2017, takes place for three days from January 28.

In excess of half-a-million people joined in the world’s largest garden wildlife survey in 2016 spotting more than eight-and-a-half million birds. The house sparrow remained top of the Big Garden Birdwatch rankings, with starling and blue tit rounding off the top three.

RSPB conservation scientist Daniel Hayhow said: "Big Garden Birdwatch allows us to monitor trends and helps us understand how birds are doing.

"With results from so many gardens, we are able to create a snapshot of the birds visiting at this time of year across the UK.

"Even if you see nothing during your Big Garden Birdwatch hour, that’s important information too, so please let us know.

"The threats to our wildlife means that it’s facing tough times. For example it is estimated that we’ve lost more than half of our hedgehogs in the last 50 years. We're going to include this part of the survey every year now, enabling us to monitor the distribution of our other wildlife as well as trends in bird numbers.”

Visit rspb.org.uk/birdwatch for further information.