ASK AN ECO ACTIVIST
This month Beccy Speight, chief executive officer of the RSPB
HOW WAS 2020 FOR YOU?
It’s been strange. I joined the RSPB in 2019 from the Woodland Trust. When lockdown began, we had to shut our 200 reserves to the public and get one of our teams back from Gough Island in the South Atlantic, where they were helping to save the endangered Tristan albatross. It took a 12-day voyage and an RAF flight.
BUT WAS IT A GOOD YEAR FOR BIRDING?
Yes, in many ways. We launched Breakfast Birdwatch, encouraging people to post pictures of wildlife on social media. Thousands joined in, sharing pictures of swallows, swifts and woodpeckers. For many, having time to engage with nature was an upside of being at home. Some people said they could hear the dawn chorus more clearly, as there was less noise pollution to drown it out.
HOW ARE OUR BIRDS DOING?
Overall, the figures are startling: there are 40 million fewer birds than 50 years ago. We get a good indication of UK numbers through January’s Big Garden Birdwatch, where we ask the public to spot the birds that arrive in their garden for an hour. We do it at this time of year as birds tend to visit feeders for food.
WHICH BIRDS COME OUT TOP?
Last year, the house sparrow came in at number one, but it’s still down 53 per cent since the survey began in 1979. The starling was second, but it was down 80 per cent. Generalist species such as wood pigeons, which can live in many types of habitat, are robust, whereas species like nightingales with more specific needs (they like thick vegetation) find it harder to survive.
WHY ARE NUMBERS FALLING?
It’s complicated but human activity is the root cause. One big factor is the loss of hedgerows – they’re cut down to create fields, but they’re hidden worlds for birds as their habitat and for food. They can teem with cirl buntings, yellowhammers and linnets. A rise in fertilisers and pesticides has also killed off vital insects.
HOW CAN WE BRING BIRDS BACK?
Feeding helps a lot: in winter, go for calorific nuts, seeds and suet balls. Nest boxes provide shelter, as does allowing your garden to grow wild. I live near the centre of Nottingham, but I spotted goldfinches, blue tits and a nuthatch, among other species, last year. I hear owls at night because my street is full of mature trees and I’ve let the space grow a bit shaggy. If you create the right habitat, birds will come.
AND IF YOU DON’T HAVE A GARDEN?
Use your voice to influence government policy (for example, we want farming regulation to ensure hedgerows are protected). Or volunteer at one of our reserves (see below).
YOUR FAVOURITE RESERVE?
Having grown up in Dorset, it has to be Arne – a mix of coastal heathland and ancient woodland that’s home to nightjars and warblers. At all our reserves, you’re surrounded by nature. They’re havens for humans, too: birding benefits the mind.
SO BIRDING IS GOOD FOR US?
It certainly works for me. Watching birds relaxes me after a tough day. Studies have shown that spending at least two hours in nature a week benefits mental wellbeing, and birding is a great gateway into nature because anyone can do it anywhere.