David Lindo
The Urban Birder shares a lifetime of knowledge on species-spotting in the city
How did you become an urban birder?
As a kid growing up in north London, I was always told that wildlife was only found in the countryside. I had nobody to take me there, so I had to find a way to satisfy my lust for knowledge. I started noticing the wildlife around me and I’ve never looked back. My earliest recollections are observing and collecting insects, but when I discovered birds my love affair with nature really kicked off.
How do birds view a city environment?
The same way they view a rural one, only the habitats they require are more fragmented and sometimes artificial. I once found a Dartford warbler on the only gorse bush on my patch in Wormwood Scrubs, and have even seen bearded tits frolicking in a living roomsized reedbed in Kensington.
What’s been your favourite sighting?
I’ve had many surprises, but watching a puffin bobbing on the Thames at Hammersmith Bridge a few winters ago takes some beating.
How can town planners make sure they accommodate birds?
Sustainable planning is not difficult – just build houses with holes for wildlife. Also, why not design more developments with green areas, lakes and ponds, to enable kids to grow up with access to green and blue spaces? Kingsbrook in Aylesbury is a great example of a developer understanding the value of connecting residents with nature.
What are your top three quintessential urban birds?
The feral pigeon, house sparrow and rose-ringed parakeet. All can survive alongside humans, nesting in our buildings and relying on handouts, though the house sparrow has declined.
What simple things can we do in our urban gardens to attract birds?
Garden borders are a low-maintenance, year-round wildlife magnet. Hawthorn, holly and dogrose are worth including. Sunflowers are simple to grow and provide food for birds, and climbers such as wisteria provide nest-sites.
What are the most unexpected urban locations to go birding?
Shopping mall car parks for pied wagtails, gulls and, in winter, possible waxwings; brownfield sites for little ringed plovers and rooftops for migrants and raptors.