The sparrow remains the most common bird in Dutch gardens, followed by the great tit and blue tit, according to this weekend’s mass bird count, in which 50,000 people took part.

In particular, there has been a decline in the number of blackbirds spotted in the nation’s gardens – the blackbird is down in fifth place after years in the top 3.

A virus which has affected blackbirds and owls primarily in the east of the country could be to blame, bird count organisers Vogelbescherming Nederland said. The Usutu virus is carried by mosquitoes and has also had an impact on the bird population in Germany and Belgium.

In Amsterdam, the top three most common birds are the great tit, the sparrow and then the ring-necked parakeet. Amsterdam’s urban parrots were recently included on a list of the worst alien species.