Birdwatching

As you may be aware this weekend (26 – 28 January) is the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch. Although I was surprised to learn that the event has been running since 1979! I’ve only been aware of it for a few years and while I’ve always thought it was a good idea, I’ve never taken part before but we are aiming to do our count tomorrow.

One of the reasons I love walking is that it gets me closer to nature and so I am in favour of any initiatives that help to make nature accessible to everyone. I like the idea of the birdwatch count for a few reasons, partly the simple reason that it gives people a break from their screens but it also reminds people that you don’t have to travel to connect with wildlife and highlights the great contribution made by urban trees.

It is surprising how quickly you can pick things up once you take the time to actively connect withe nature. Only a few years ago I might have described myself as an ornithophobic, or in other words afraid of birds. So how do you go from being nervous of them to looking forward to a session of birdwatching?

Well first of all I should clarify that I clearly never had a full phobia but I was wary of birds mainly because a seagull flew into my head. Yes that’s right, it walloped me right in forehead, sending my glasses flying. I’d never been a fan of the brutes but that incident was the final nail in the coffin. I have to admit that after that I was on edge around any birds, wrongly tarring them all with the same brush.

Today I still hate seagulls but I know they are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to bird behaviour. I am clearly biased but I have never understood how anyone can like Seagulls. Actually no one likes Seagulls as they don’t exist, their proper name is Herring Gull but for simplicity’s sake I’ll stick with calling them Seagulls. People often say they like visiting the seaside as they enjoy the sound of Seagulls. Really? How can you like that screech? I love spending time by the coast and the countryside but for me green space will always beat blue and I genuinely think part of that is Seagulls. When you live near the sea, you’ll find seagulls everywhere, including the park, but perhaps even seagulls appreciate the calming properties of trees as they seem far less aggressive there then they are on the seafront. That still doesn’t stop me telling the gulls that they really should be by the sea and leave the park to the ducks & crows but they just continue giving me a beady-eyed stare and stubbornly stay where they are.

Apologies that was a bit of a tangent, but the point is I do not like seagulls. That being said, with walking more and taking an active interest in the nature around me I realise that I have started to recognise different species of birds. Of course we all know the adorable Robin but I think I can know differentiate starlings, sparrows and blackbirds. I still tend to use the word ‘crow’ even though I know it could be a raven or a jackdaw but I think they are all in the corvid group? I’ve also started to recognise some of their calls – the disinctive chatter of a magpie, the crow’s caw, the surprisngly loud sound of a tiny Robin and the lyrical tones of a Blackbird.

That said looking at the bird chart for the Big Garden Birdwatch I realise that I’ve been calling Collared Doves, Woodpigeons and I had no idea Great Tits and Blue Tits were so alike (tee hee Tits – yes I know it’s childish but I can’t help it). I don’t think I was aware of Dunnocks so I’ve probably been referring to them as Sparrows but it’s still progress especially for someone who used to be nervous of birds.

I have a lot more to learn about birds, well nature in general, but the best way to learn is to keep spending time with nature whether that’s actually being in it or simply looking out of the window. Today we had a lovely walk around our local park and because if it being the birdwatch weekend I was trying to take more notice of the birds we saw on the way as well as in the park. I spotted Starlings, a Robin, Magpies, Herring Gulls (boo), Moorhens, Crows (or maybe jackdaws), ducks, swans and possibly even a Long-tailed Tit (tee hee).

When we do the official count I know we won’t spot as many birds as we did today but I will be interested to see the results as I do feel like I’ve seen fewer birds in our garden generally. However that is based on the occassional glance out of the window so I’m intrigued to see what an hour’s observation will bring.

That’s how I stroll.