The RSPB has launched the UK's very own 'Bird of the Year' contest - here are this year's potential champions

• The RSPB has launched the UK’s very own ‘bird of the year’ competition
• All of this year’s competitors are birds in need of special conservation support
• Two will face off against each other each week to decide who moves on to the next round
• You’ll need to connect with the charity on social media to get involved

If you’ve been charmed by puffins, amused by a cheeky herring gull, or dazzled by a murmuration of starlings, now’s your chance to return the favour - by backing them to win a prestigious new feather in their caps.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has this month launched its very first UK Bird Of The Year competition via Instagram, which will see eight threatened species battle it out for the inaugural crown. Several other countries already hold similar tournaments, famously including New Zealand – where the annual contest comes complete with campaign managers, cheating scandals, and sometimes even foreign interference – all in the name of celebrating and educating people about the unique species we share our skies, seas, woods, and wetlands with.

The first bout is already underway, and two of the country’s most beloved birds are facing off. As of Friday (October 10), the colourful puffin and the dainty kestrel are neck-and-neck, with the puffin holding about 51% of the votes to the kestrel’s 49%.

But which other unique species will be making an appearance over the coming weeks, why were they chosen, and how do you actually vote? Here’s what you need to know:

Which birds are in the running this year?

On the RSPB’s Instagram page, this year’s eight hand-picked candidates were revealed as the puffin, kestrel, turtle dove, lapwing, curlew, starling, swift, and a more controversial (and sometimes unfairly maligned) contender – the herring gull.

Social media executive, Kemi Ajayi, told us that all eight birds were selected from the charity’s priority species list. This is made up of birds they have identified as being in need of special conservation support.

“By featuring them in our Bird Of The Year tournament, we want to raise awareness of their plight, and for the lesser-known birds we want to raise their profile amongst the public,” she said. “We think curlews and turtle doves deserve just as much fame as puffins and kestrels.

“It’s been great fun working on this, and our design team has done a stellar job on Bird Of The Year. It might not be what people expect from the RSPB, but we hope it grabs people’s attention and highlights these eight beautiful birds that need our help. The team are split on their preferred winner. To us, they all deserve the trophy.”

Some of these species also unfortunately had prominent mention in Defra’s latest wild bird population statistics, released last month. These include the lapwing, with the glamorous plovers falling in numbers by more than 65% since the 1970s, with the last few years showing an even stronger rate of decline. Turtle doves, kestrels, and starlings have all also seen significant drops over the past few decades.

How you can vote

To get involved, head on over to the RSPB’s Instagram page here and give them a follow. Every Thursday – starting from this week (October 9) – they will be posting a match video, under which you can vote for one of two birds to decide which one will get through to the next round.

This will continue until a champion is crowned. The match videos include key stats and fun facts about the two species which are facing off. Throughout the week, the RSPB will also be posting more about the birds themselves, “so you can make an informed choice”.

If you’d like to help out this year’s Bird of the Year contenders, you can support the RSPB’s work by becoming a member, or giving your time as a volunteer. You can also give a one-off or regular donation using this link.