Wildlife fans hit the dance floor

You'd expect a conservation charity just to get involved in campaigns to save our seas, trees and bees. But the RSPB is branching out and backing a movement by a member of the public, Birdman Jack, to get The Trashmen's Surfin' Bird track to the Christmas number one spot.

To show its support, members of staff at the RSPB's UK Headquarters, in Bedfordshire, have taken to the dance floor to share some unique moves with the help of a gardener and a giant bird in a video which is available to millions on the internet in the run up to Christmas.

The charity is also promoting the campaign on its website, Facebook page, blogs, intranet and podcast in an attempt to get as many people as possible to help get the song to number one. It is hoped this will encourage online supporters to go one step further and donate to the RSPB and help it save birds and other wildlife around the world.

Even the RSPB's Director of Conservation has been involved, making his own appearance in the video by doing the 'funky chicken' at his desk. Mark Avery said: "We've been telling people 'bird is the word' for years and by supporting the campaign to get Surfin' Bird to the number one spot in the charts this Christmas we hope to reach a whole new audience in web users and music fans. We're hoping the video and the other social media sites we're making a noise on will cause quite a stir — we're pretty sure that a group of conservationists dancing around in the cold isn't the norm!

"It's all a bit of fun but if it gets people thinking about wildlife at this time of year, and wanting to find out more about it, everyone's a winner. Most importantly the birds themselves — and they're the real stars in all of this."

Radio One DJ Scott Mills is also backing the campaign, and encouraging people to download Surfin' Bird from 12th December in time for the Christmas chart.

You can find out more about the RSPB's support for the Christmas number one crusade on their website and for more information on how to download the song visit their Facebook page.