Garden birding
In a world overwhelmed by bad news and scary statistics, we can find hope outside the back door, says Clare
Clare urges us all to do all we can for nature – starting with helping our garden visitors
Those of us whose lives are so intrinsically entwined with wildlife will likely already appreciate the sound of birdsong, and, more than that, we will notice when it isn’t there. Sadly, some of the songs and calls we hear are disappearing, and that’s why the RSPB recently decided to release a track entitled Let Nature Sing.
The music features about 25 British birds, including the Tawny Owl, Blackbird and Robin – the kind of birds that
I often write about here in this column.
This music is being played up and down the UK in thousands of buildings, from cathedrals to underground stations. It’s a stark reminder of what we stand to lose if bird populations continue to decline.
Farm birds have been hit particularly hard, with Defra revealing that the number of birds living on farmland has declined by 46% since 1970. That was the same year that Joni Mitchell released Big Yellow Taxi, and her message was clear:
Hey, farmer, farmer
Put away that DDT, now Give me spots on my apples But leave me the birds and the bees,
Please!
The wake-up call has been coming for years. It’s not new. It’s just louder.
We have two choices – become depressed by it all and adopt a head-in-sand position, or feel motivated and ready to take action. Let’s take the latter approach. It’s easier than you think.
Start in your back garden. Monitor what you see from one day to the next. I realise some of you might consider a sparrow a bit dull, but this is no time for snobbery. Pay close attention to your visitors – how often you’re having to fill up your bird feeders. Notice patterns and details. This is as much about mindfulness as conservation.
We can see winter as a bit of a grotty time, but it’s not! The trees are bare without their leaves and birds are easier to spot, their keenness for food makes them venture closer to us than they normally would and this gives us the perfect
opportunity to study them.
While doing your weekly shop, pick out the best bird food you can afford. It’s easy to offer cheap mixes, but these can contain fillers which offer very little or no nutritional value. Many garden birds will love to perch on your bird table, but only put out as much food as is necessary each day. Rotten food attracts wildlife, but not the sort you want hanging out near your house.
It’s time to think about water. Got a pond or a bird bath? Pop a tennis ball in to stop the water freezing over. You and I might opt for a cuppa in the cold weather, but birds keep it real with a drop of H2O. They also need to bathe themselves to keep clean. Create areas for birds to shelter from the elements or better still, put down your tools and let the garden go a bit crazy for a while. The less you mess with it, the more inviting it is to wildlife. It’s lazy and it’s good for the environment. Sounds like a win-win to me!
I’m not saying that letting your bushes go bonkers is going to save the world, but if we are all to be a little more considered – even in just our immediate surroundings, we will start to realise that we can have more of an impact. Talk about something with passion and you’ll find it easier to engage others – I’ve been comforted by the amount of people who have shown an interest in the birds who visit my garden and the random facts I’ve learned through writing this column. These are people who previously would have pulled faces at the term ‘birder’ and have a bit of a laugh. So yes, I’m small, a speck of dust on this planet, but if I can have just one conversation that encourages a neighbour to get themselves a bird feeder or to not trim the top of the hedge quite yet then maybe, all is not lost.