Here are the results we have all been waiting for just what was the pick of the chicks in this year's RSPB Garden Birdwatch? ANTHONY OSBORNE finds out exactly what was hot and what was not.

THE pecking order of our feathered friends in Wilt-shire gardens has been revealed by the RSPB Garden Bird-watch.

During the weekend of January 24 and 25, people across the county watched garden birds for an hour and noted down what they saw.

Nearly 8,000 people across the county took part in the 25th annual RSPB Birdwatch, which was the largest ever.

The Birdwatch aims to provide an indicator of the health of the countryside and the survey requires only one hour to take part, producing a snapshot of winter garden bird populations.

This year the results were conclusive for Wiltshire with the house sparrow the most common at number one.

Across the rest of the country, the survey noted some surprising results.

It showed that collared doves and wood pigeons are now five times more common in gardens nationwide than in 1979.

Collared doves, seen in 62 per cent of gardens, have increased by 525 per cent. This amazing increase is even more of a surprise when the first recorded breeding of the species took place in 1955, not long after they began a monumental move from the Middle East and Asian countries.

Numbers of the particularly shy wood pigeon were also up by 594 per cent and were recorded in 54 per cent of gardens.

Collared doves and wood pigeons did not feature in 1979's top 10 birds but they now hold seventh and ninth place respectively.

Derek Lyford, leader of the North Wiltshire Group of the RSPB also took part in the Birdwatch. He said he was not surprised by the results.

"The Birdwatch provides a clear picture of the species and numbers of birds which can be found in gardens and parks."

"This year it seems to show how intensive farming has become, and that many birds are preferring to leave the countryside and go to gardens where they can get food."

Nationwide, some 409,000 people watched their gardens and local parks during the Big Garden Birdwatch.

They recorded a staggering 8.6 million birds in the 247,000 gardens surveyed.

Tony Whitehead, RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch co-ordinator said: "Its an incredible achievement for a survey to reach its 25th anniversary.

"We're amazed at how the popularity of Big Garden Birdwatch has grown over the years.

"Over time we have been able to measure population changes among our familiar birds some quite surprising.

"In fact, Big Garden Birdwatch was one of the first surveys to notice the decline in song thrushes."

The four biggest losers since the first Big Garden Birdwatch in 1979 have been the starling, house sparrow, song thrush and blackbird.

The starling, beaten to the top spot this year by the house sparrow, has seen its numbers plummet from 15 per garden to an average of 4.3, a decline of 71 per cent.

The house sparrow, with an average of 4.8 per garden, has declined by 52 per cent since 1979 when an average of 10 birds were seen.

aosborne@newswilts.co.uk