Animal Rescue with Marion Garnett
IT was the Thames Valley Police who broke the news that a blackbird who’d spent all day listening to them testing sirens on police cars was now perched in a nearby tree imitating the twotone sound perfectly.
The video of the blackbird was followed by a flurry of responses saying what their local blackbirds imitate. This included a blackbird imitating the bin lorry reversing noise.
But, for many people, it raises the question, would you recognise the genuine song of a blackbird if you heard it? Last year the London Wildlife Trust (LWT) asked what course their supporters would like them to run in 2024. Over 60% said they wanted to learn to recognise birdsong.
In response, LWT have started a free seven-day email course which will introduce participants to the songs of seven birds we’re likely to hear in London this Spring. If you sign-up you’ll get bitesized daily emails for one week, audio links and a video for each bird. To sign up, go to bit.ly/BirdsongCourse.
The birds we’re most likely to hear are likely to feature in the list of birds most frequently sighted during last January’s Big Garden Birdwatch. Organised by the Royal Society for the Protections of Birds, this year’s Birdwatch results have just been published. They showed the most common birds seen in the UK were house sparrow, blue tit, starling, and woodpigeon with blackbirds coming fifth. For the full results see rspb.org.uk.
The importance of birds to the wellbeing of humans shouldn’t be underestimated. It’s in recognition of this that the Natural History Museum are putting together an exhibition called Birds:Brilliant and Bizarre. The museum’s been looking at how listening to birdsong can affect us. They cite research which shows that interacting with nature can improve our memory, makes us less depressed and boost our creativity.
The positive influence of nature on our wellbeing will come as no surprise to visitors to one of our local areas where wildlife is in abundance, Warren Farm. It’s also one of the reasons why it’s such good news that Ealing Council have recently committed to giving Warren Farm Local Nature Reserve status. Not only will this benefit people but also birds. Not least the red-listed skylarks nesting there.
The Natural History Museum’s exhibition, which opens on May 24, will also highlight if there’s any way humans can improve how we live our lives which will help birds with theirs. Local Nature Reserve status for Warren Farm is a step in the right direction.