Wildlife enthusiasts believe last year’s warm weather has helped increase bird populations in parts of North Somerset.

Yatton and Congresbury Wildlife Group runs a two-week survey every December and January to calculate the number of birds living in the area.

The results for the 2018/19 survey show blackbirds are once again the most prominent species, narrowly ahead of wood pigeons.

They were seen in 93 and 92 per cent of gardens respectively across the two villages, plus Claverham and Cleeve.

Robins, blue tits, magpies, house sparrows, great tits, dunnocks, goldfinches and the collared dove all appeared in more than half of the gardens.

There was a significant increase in house sparrow sightings compared with 2017/18, but the number of redwings spotted decreased.

On average, households recorded 39 birds in their gardens over the survey period.