‘I REALISED HOW LITTLE I NOTICE THE WORLD AROUND ME’

Ella Dove loses herself in a flight of fancy

Standing in sheltered woodland, I focus my binoculars and look up. There, in a distant tree, is a great spotted woodpecker, with its black and white back and orange underside, seemingly so close that I could reach out and touch it. Then, another lands beside it. And then, a third. ‘Wow,’ I exclaim. ‘That reaction is why we do it,’ smiles Andrew Gouldstone, senior site manager at RSPB Rainham Marshes. ‘You never know what you’re going to see, and when you see something rare, it’s special. We’ve had a lot of new visitors since lockdown. Birdwatching is a way to lose yourself. It takes your mind off things.’ I must admit, I didn’t think I’d take to it. As someone with quite a short attention span, the idea of staring out of a hide for hours never really appealed. Yet, in recent months, after days on end working in my flat, I’ve found myself craving fresh air. Watching Gouldstone point out grebes, kestrels, a buzzard and marsh harriers, I realise how little I notice when it comes to our natural world.

‘It’s satisfying putting a name to something,’ he says. ‘If you regularly come back to the same patch, you’ll learn how the landscape changes with the seasons, how migration affects birds.’ Imagining these tiny feathered creatures crossing countries gives me cause to realise how small we all are, bringing a sense of perspective and awe I’ve never felt before.

‘It’s an opportunity to connect with other lives, get to know them, be curious about them, share moments with them, and give us a sense of belonging in a world where isolation is a significant challenge,’ agrees Claire Thompson, author of The Art Of Mindful Birdwatching. I see what she means. As I watch ducks disappear beneath the water, I feel I’ve been given a privileged window into a world away from my own.

Tuning into my senses proves equally mindful. So mindful that for two hours, I don’t look at my phone, think about emails or plan ahead to what I’ll have for dinner. I’m totally absorbed. ‘Listening and paying attention takes us out of our busy minds and into our present experience,’ says Thompson. ‘Stress, low mood and anxiety are often triggered by thoughts about the past or future. When we come into our direct sensory experience, we can feel more grounded, calm and connected. We come out of our minds and into our bodies. We feel present and alive.’

I come away rejuvenated. As a cloud of sparrows fly out from the hedges, I raise my face to the sky and smile. As Thompson puts it: ‘In a world where there’s constant judgement, assessment and comparison, nature will allow us to be as we are.’ There’s nothing more healing than that. Visit rspb.org.uk