Just over a week after the nation spent an hour counting the birds in their gardens, over a quarter of a million people have already sent in their results to the RSPB.

This equates to almost five millions birds being recorded, and the wildlife charity hopes the final figures will be way higher.

And in addition to the bird watching efforts, a staggering 18,000 of those already taking part have gone on to sign up to the wildlife charity’s new Letter to the future campaign, proving that wildlife is an important part of their lives and something they are desperate to protect. At its peak, 8,000 people per hour were adding their name to the RSPB’s most successful campaign launch to date.

Now all we have to do it sit back and wait for the experts to enter the results, crunch the numbers and look for trends, and importantly, see what affect the recent prolonged cold snap had on our garden birds.

The important thing while this is being done is to make sure that those that haven't yet sent in their results know it is still vital that they do.

Results can be submitted until February 19th and the more records collected, the greater the accuracy of patterns and trends.

Whether your findings are scribbled on a scrappy bit of paper or you had a slightly more organised tick list, make sure you get your results in when you have a sec as you really will be making a difference.

Visit www.rspb.org.uk/letter to share your love for nature and sign the letter.